Skip to main content

Full text of "The Improvement Era"

See other formats 


IMPROVEMENT 

ERA 


Vol.  XVIII 


DECEMBER,   1914 


No.  2 


ORGAN  OF  THE    PRIESTHOOD    CttSOKuMS.    THE    YOUNO    MEN'S  MUTVAI 

\HRROVEMENT  ASSOCIATIONS  AND  THE   SCHOOLS    OF   THE    CHURLS*    99 
JESUS  CHRIST  OF  LATTEP  DAY  SAINTS 

r*f  BUMMED  MONTHLY  BY  THE  OKSERAL  BOAMD  AT  MALT  LAKE  CITY.  VTS** 


,DE  BOUZEK 
ENGRAVING  09) 

MITLAKECITXITAH 

\&   « I* 


BEFORE  THE  SMOKB 
CLEARS  AWAY 

On  Tour  fire-stricken  shop,  factory, 
office  or  store,  you  can  resume  busi- 
ness If  Insured  with  us.  No  long 
unnecessary  delays  in  adjusting,  ho 
haggling  over  terms;  but  prompt  pay- 
ment of  losses  every  time.  It's  to  our 
Interest  to  get  you  set  up  in  business 
again — we  can  Insure  you  again. 
HOME  FIRE  INSURANCE  COMPANY  OF  UTAH 

Heber  J.  Grant  &  Go. «' 

20-26  S.  Main  St.,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 


BOTH  PHONES  881 

Jos.  Wm.  Tayloy 

Utah's  Leading  Undertaker 
and  Licensed  Embalmer. 

Fina  Funeral  Chape),    Private 
Parlor,  Show  Rooms  a^H  Morgue 

OmOI  OPEN  DAT  AND  >HGHT 

SI,  IS  and  25  South  West  Temyia  St. 
SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH 


Three  Daily 
Principles 

1  "Safety  First" 

2  "Courtesy** 

3  "Careful  Attention 
to  Details.** 

By  these  Each  Operating  Employe 
of  the 

Pledges 
His  Faith. 

For  Information  Apply  to 

CITY  TICKFiT  OFFICE.  Hotel  Utah 
Salt  Lake  City 


CALIFORNIA 
EXCURSIONS 


Tickets  on  Sale 
Nov.  21-22-23 

Return   Limit  Jan.   31 
Dec.  19-20-21-22 

Return  Limit  Feb.  28 
Dec.  29 

Return  Limit  March  7 

Round  Trip  Rate   tit- A  fj 

Diverse  Routes         tfl/T!" 

3  Good  Trains  Every  Day  3 

For  California  Literature  or  Information 
call  at  Ciy  Ticket  Cffice 

1 0  East  Third  South  St. 
or  write 

T.  C.  Peck,  J.  H.  Manderfield 

G.P.A.,  Los  Angeles     A.G.P.A.  Salt  Lake 


WHEN  WRITING  TO  APV^RVSBRS,  PLEASE  MEN i  ION  THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


ALIENS 

O  ye  who   walk  where  no  shadow   falls 

To  darken   the   sun-kissed   day, 
Can  ye  sense  the  need  when  a  brother  calls, 

Who  perishes  by  the  way? 

O   ye   whose   protected   feet   ne'er   tripped 

On  the  cruel  jutting  stone, 
Can  ye  agonize  for  those  who've  slipped, 

As    they    traveled    their    path    alone? 

O  ye  who  have  never  felt  the  fangs 

Of  a  gnawing  hunger's  want, 
Are  ye  in  haste  to  appease  the  pangs 

Of  the  specter  wan  and  gaunt? 

O  ye  who  have  never  known  the  dart 

Of  the  archer  grim  and  hoar, 
Can  ye  comfort  bring  to  the  wounded  heart 

'Yond    the    close-shut,    wreath-draped    door? 

O  ye  who  walk  where  no  shadow  falls 

To   darken   the  sun-kissed   days, 
Ye  are  fenced  about  by  golden  walls,  ■ 

Ye  know  naught  of  other  ways. 

Grace  Ingles  Frost 


EPHRAIM  K.  HANKS,  A  NOTED  SCOUT  OF  EARLY  DAYS  IN  UTAH 

Born  Madison,  Lake  County,  Ohio,  Mar.  21,  1826;  died  Blue  Valley 
Ward,  Wayne  Co.,  Utah,  June  9,  1896. 

See'  article,  "A  King  of  Western  Scouts,"  by  Solomon  Kimball. 


Improvement  Era 


Vol.  XVIII  DECEMBER,  1914  No.  2. 


The  Breaking  of  Law — An  Instance 


BY  DR.  FREDERICK  J.  PACK 


In  the  morning  of  a  bright  autumn  day,  some  seven  or  eight 
years  ago,  the  writer  of  this  simple,  but  true  story,  was  aroused 
from  his  work  by  a  sharp  rap  at  the  door  of  his  study.  Upon 
invitation  the  visitor  entered.  It  was  a  young  man  of  possibly 
twenty  years,  tall,  erect  and  altogether  handsome.  From  a  phys- 
ical point  of  view,  he  was  far  above  the  average,  and  at  once  pre- 
sented the  appearance  of  an  athlete  of  no  mean  ability.  In  fact, 
he  was  one  of  the  younger  boys  from  the  college,  and  had  already 
participated  in  various  forms  of  advanced  athletic  activity. 

The  writer  has  for  many  years  made  it  a  practice  to  invite 
students  into  his  home  where  he  can  "chum"  with  them,  and  so 
the  visit  of  our  school  friend  carried  with  it  nothing  of  the  un- 
usual. The  conversation  at  first  had  to  do  with  school  activities 
and  college  life  in  general,  and  then,  quite  naturally,  it  became 
more  personal  and  confidential.  The  young  man  told,  in  an  un- 
complaining and  happy  manner,  of  the  various  difficulties  he  was 
encountering  in  maintaining  himself  in  college.  He  related  with 
almost  religious  fervor  the  details  of  the  sickness  and  death  of 
his  mother  a  year  previous.  His  father  had  been  left  with  a  large 
family  of  young  children,  the  eldest  one  of  which,  except  the 
youth,  was  a  girl  of  scarcely  seventeen,  upon  whose  shoulders  had 
fallen  the  care  of  the  house  at  the  time  of  the  mother's  death. 
The  father  was  not  financially  prepared  to  help  our  young  friend 
with  his  school  work,  and  so  he  set  out  to  secure  an  education 
for  himself. 

And  thus  the  conversation  ran  until  what  was  later  learned 
to  be  the  objective  point  of  the  visit  was  reached.  The  writer  had 
just  asked  the  young  man  how  he  was  getting  along  financially. 
"That  is  my  chief  reason  for  being  here,"  came  the  quick  and 
responsive  answer.     I  have  been  out  of  work  for  more  than  a 


98  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

week,  and  unless  I  get  employment  soon  I  shall  be  compelled  to 
abandon  school  and  go  home."  The  last  words  were  uttered  in  a 
low,  resolute  voice.  The  conversation  which  followed  developed 
the  fact  that  he  was  in  desperate  circumstances.  While  he  was 
not  really  suffering  for  want  of  food,  yet  he  had  been  compelled 
for  the  last  week  to  adjust  his  appetite  to  two  scanty  meals  each 
day. 

The  writer  is  forced  at  this  point  to  digress  far  enough  to 
state  that  few  people  are  aware  of  the  hardships  and  privations 
which  many  of  our  college  boys  undergo.  At  our  State  University, 
and  elsewhere  at  the  present  time,  there  are  scores  of  young  men 
who  are  really  underfed  and  otherwise  poorly  cared  for  simply 
because  of  want.  They  are  rising  in  the  morning  before  five  that 
we  may  have  our  papers  delivered  in  time  for  reading  at  the 
breakfast  table ;  they  are  building  the  furnace  fires  in  our  homes ; 
they  are  shoveling  the  snow  from  our  walks ;  they  are  washing  the 
dishes  in  our  eating  houses ;  and,  in  fact,  they  are  doing  anything 
and  everything  that  will  enable  them  to  remain  in  college.  The 
reward  of  all  this  is  that  many  of  them  are  destined  to  become 
leaders  among  us. 

But  we  must  return  to  our  young  friend.  In  answer  to  an 
inquiry  he  explained  that  for  some  reason  unknown  to  himself  he 
had  been  "let  out"  of  the  job  which  he  had  held  for  more  than 
a  year.  No  explanation  had  been  made  by  his  employer.  He 
thought  that  he  had  given  satisfaction,  and  maintained,  appar- 
ently with  justification,  that  he  had  been  absolutely  honest.  But 
only  just  now,  however,  he  had  passed  the  place  of  his  former 
employment,  and  had  seen  another  college  boy  perform- 
ing the  tasks  which  before  were  his.  He  here  showed  considerable 
resentment,  and  indicated  that  someone  had  been  "doing  him  dirt." 

"For  almost  an  entire  week,"  he  continued,  "I  have  faithfully 
gone  from  place  to  place  seeking  something  to  do,  and  invariably  I 
have  been  turned  away.  It  seems  that  the  fates  are  against  me. 
Other  fellows  secure  jobs  just  ahead  of  me,  and  just  after  I  leave, 
but  for  some  reason  nothing  comes  my  way."  And  then  he  ex- 
plained that  he  had  come  to  see  if  he  could  get  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation to  someone  for  employment. 

Upon  assurance  being  given  that  that  cheerfully  would  be  done, 
the  conversation  took  another  turn.  "What  do  you  say,  and  what 
is  your  attitude,  with  respect  to  remuneration  when  you  apply, 
for  employment,"  was  asked. 

"I  simply  tell  them  that  I  am  looking  for  a  job,  that  I  must 
have  work,  and  that  I  am  willing  to  accept  most  any  wage  in 
order  to  obtain  an  opportunity  to  prove  myself."  Certainly  a 
most  commendable  attitude! 

"And  what  are  you  asked  in  return  ?"  was  continued. 

"Oh,  nothing  of  importance ;  they  simply  ask  who  my  people 


THE  BREAKING  OF  THE  LAW  99 

are,  where  I  live,  where  I  worked  last,  and  a  few  other  such  ques- 
tions." 

At  this  point  a  startling  revelation  came  to  hand, — a  telltale 
yellow  stain  upon  the  forefingers  of  the  young  man.  Knowing 
the  attitude  of  the  majority  of  business  men  of  the  town  towards 
cigarette  smoking,  the  writer  looked  the  youth  squarely  in  the 
eye  and  enquired,  "Are  you  ever  asked  if  you  smoke  cigarettes?" 

"Oh,  yes,  but  only  in  an  incidental  manner,"  was  the  reply. 
He  then  hesitatingly  admitted  that  he  was  addicted  to  the  use  of 
cigarettes,  but  promptly  argued  that  smoking  could  have  nothing 
to  do  with  his  failure  to  secure  employment.  In  this  he  was 
merely  voicing  the  feeling  of  the  big  majority  of  young  men  who 
are  addicted  to  the  habit.  They  feel  that  the  smoking  of  a  few 
cigarettes  can  do  them  no  harm,  and  that  they  themselves  are 
fully  as  capable  as  those  who  do  not  smoke.  Herein  lies  a  deceitful 
treachery. 

It  was  with  difficulty  that  the  youth  was  convinced  that  not 
only  his  failure  to  secure  employment,  but  the  loss  of  his  former 
position,  were  likely  due  to  his  habit  of  smoking  cigarettes.  It  was 
quite  apparent  that  the  youth  had  never  connected  his  misfortunes 
with  a  habit  so  "trivial."  While  he  had  smoked  in  the  establish- 
ment of  his  former  employer,  and  that,  too,  during  working  hours, 
yet  he  could  not  really  feel  that  smoking  had  anything  to  do  with 
his  dismissal.  But  he  was  without  work  and  something  had  to 
be  done.  It  was  agreed  that  the  next  day  efforts  would  be  made 
to  find  employment  for  him. 

Before  leaving,  however,  he  was  asked  to  tell  how  he  acquired 
the  habit  of  smoking.  The  story  was  not  an  unusual  one.  He 
had  gone  out  with  a  crowd  of  the  "fellows ;"  cigarettes  were 
passed ;  he  refused  to  smoke ;  he  was  told  that  they  were  harm- 
less; he  was  urged;  he  was  called  a  "sissy;"  he  began  to  feel  that 
the  boys  were  avoiding  him  and  that  he  would  be  ostracised  if  he 
did  not  become  "  one  of  them ;"  he  yielded ;  he  yielded  again  the 
next  time  he  was  out ;  he  began  to  like  them ;  the  habit  grew  upon 
him ;  he  smoked  when  alone  ;  and  finally  he  purchased  them  himself 
and  used  them  regularly.  Yes,  he  could  give  them  up  if  there 
were  any  necessity  for  it,  and  that,  easily,  but  he  could  see  no 
reason  for  it  now. 

The  next  morning  the  writer  got  in  touch  with  several  of 
the  business  men  of  the  town,  and  he  was  repeatedly  told  that  the 
youth  was  not  needed.  He  knew  that  at  one  of  the  places  men 
were  actually  in  demand,  and  here  he  ventured  to  ask  why  the 
youth  should  be  turned  away.  "Do  you  know  that  he  smokes?" 
came  the  reply.  "We  cannot  use  cigarette  smokers  in  our  busi- 
ness, they  are  inefficient ;  they  waste  time,  and  as  a  rule  they  are 
unreliable."  It  was  decided  to  investigate  the  matter  further,  with 
the  result  that  it  was  learned  that  practically  every  business  man 


100  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

in  the  town  was  opposed  to  the  employment  of  cigarette-smoking 
boys.  Finally,  however,  work  was  secured.  The  youth  continued 
in  school  until  the  close  of  the  year,  and  promised  that  he  would 
return  in  September  at  the  beginning  of  the  new  semester. 

But  the  youth  did  not  come  back  that  year,  nor  the  next. 
Nearly  four  years  later  an  invitation  was  received  to  be  present 
at  his  wedding  reception.  He  had  won  the  hand  of  a  beautiful 
country  girl,  and  was  to  be  married  in  June,  the  month  of  roses. 
When  the  time  arrived  the  writer  made  it  convenient  to  be  pres- 
ent. The  girl,  a  mere  slip  of  a  child,  appeared  to  be  the  soul  of 
delicacy  and  goodness.  Her  love  for  the  youth,  now  a  mature 
man,  stopped  but  little  short  of  worship,  blind  as  it  may  have 
been.  They  were  both  "Mormons,"  she  a  devout  one,  and  he  a 
"believer,"  although  in  former  years  he  had  regarded  religion  with 
active  appreciation.  She  had  urged  him  to  give  up  his  cigarettes 
that  they  might  go  to  the  Temple  and  be  married.  He  promised 
that  he  would  do  so,  but  argued  that  if  he  did  it  now,  people 
would  say  that  he  was  doing  it  as  a  mere  subterfuge.  He  would 
wait  until  after  they  were  married,  and  then  he  would  stop  smok- 
ing, and  they  would  go  to  the  Temple  and  be  married  right. 
And  so  that  night  they  were  married  "until  death  does  you  part." 

A  year  later,  a  baby  came  to  their  home,  the  mother  lingered 
long  in  ill  health,  then  became  stronger,  and  fairly  well.  Surely 
now  was  the  time  for  them  to  go  to<  the  House  of  the  Lord,  and 
have  father,  mother  and  babe  united  under  the  power  of  the 
Everlasting  Covenant.  Unquestionably  he  would  now  give  up  his 
cigarettes  and  otherwise  prepare  to  go.  Would  he?  "Yes,  after 
a  while,  but  not  now."  There  were  several  matters  to  be  adjusted  ; 
he  had  paid  no  tithing,  and  had  scarcely  been  inside  the  church 
building  since  the  Sunday  following  their  marriage.  Yet  he 
promised  his  patient  wife  that  he  would  do  better,  and  that  some 
day  they  would  be  married  according  to  the  laws  of  the  Holy 
Priesthood. 

Scarcely  one  year  ago  now,  our  friend,  the  youth,  the  man, 
was  attacked  by  that  dreaded  disease  typhoid.  For  days  and  days 
he  suffered  under  the  blighting  effect  of  fever.  At  times  he  be- 
came flighty  and  irresponsible.  The  wife  was  ever  at  his  side. 
They  talked  of  the  past,  of  their  courtship  and  marriage,  but 
principally  of  the  future,  of  the  time  when  they  with  their  child 
could  go  to  the  House  of  the  Lord,  because  now,  when  serious 
sickness  was  before  them,  the  husband  himself  was  willing  to 
think  earnestly  of  the  future. 

One  day  the  faithful  wife  suggested  to  our  friend  that  the 
elders  of  the  Church  be  called  in  to  bless  him.  He  consented. 
The  administration  was  followed  by  slow  but  marked  relief.  Day 
by  day  he  became  stronger  and  life  seemed  to  be  beginning  anew. 
The  fever  had  gone,  and  the  period  of  convalescence  was  at  hand. 


THE   BREAKING  OF  THE  LAW  101 

Almost  hourly,  strength  seemed  to  be  returning.  He  was  begin- 
ning to  eat  somewhat  freely,  and  the  time  came  when  he  sat  up 
in  bed  and  talked  to  his  son.  But  the  improvement  was  not  to 
continue.  The  cigarettes  had  already  made  deep  inroads  upon 
the  strength  of  his  heart.  He  was  rising  upon  his  elbow  to  adjust 
a  pillow  when  a  sharp  cry  of  alarm  came  from  his  lips,  and  he 
fell  back  never  to  rise  till  the  day  of  the  great  beyond. 

Friends  and  neighbors  laden  with  sympathy  poured  into  the 
home  of  the  wife  left  behind.  Everything  that  mortal  hand  could 
do  was  done.  The  time  for  the  funeral  service  came.  To  the  wife 
it  all  seemed  like  a  frightful  nightmare.  The  good  folks  in  their 
efforts  to  comfort  her,  told  her  that  the  Lord  had  taken  her 
husband  away  to  perform  a  greater  work  elsewhere.  At  the  service 
she  was  again  reassured  that  the  "Lord  knows  best,"  that  he 
"works  in  a  mysterious  way  his  wonders  to  perform,"  and  the 
choir  sang,  "Sometime,  Somewhere,  we'll  Understand." 

The  widowed  mother  is  now  teaching  her  son  child  that  the 
Lord  took  its  father  away  because  he  was  needed  more  else- 
where. The  name  of  the  mother  appears  upon  the  payroll  of  one 
of  our  largest  factories,  while  the  child  is  picking  up  the  slang 
and  habits  of  the  street,  along  with  other  unfortunate  children. 

Many  sermons  might  be  preached  and  many  articles  written 
with  texts  and  subjects  taken  from  this  simple  story.  In  the  first 
place  the  story  raises  the  question  of  the  advisability  of  permitting 
young  men  to  come  into  the  city  without  proper  chaperonage ;  it 
makes  plain  the  necessity  of  systematic  college  supervision,  it 
notes  that  employers  in  many  of  the  larger  institutions  refuse  to 
employ  cigarette-smoking  boys,  on  the  ground  that  they  are  in- 
efficient and  generally  unreliable ;  it  instances  the  fact  that  cigar- 
ette smokers  seldom  remain  in  college  for  graduation ;  it  empha- 
sizes the  folly  of  expecting  that  reformation  will  take  place  after 
marriage ;  it  illustrates  the  postponing  tendency  invariably  ex- 
hibited by  those  upon  whom  an  enslaving  habit  has  taken  hold ;  it 
shows  that  even  dilatory  individuals  are  willing  to  call  upon  God 
in  times  of  distress,  but  for  our  present  purpose  it  proves  that  the 
laws  of  God  ore  invariable  and  must  be  fulfilled. 

There  seems  to  be  a  growing  tendency  among  mankind' to 
place  not  only  the  responsibility  for  all  sorts  of  mishaps  and  mis- 
deeds upon  Deity,  but  actually  to  credit  it  to  his  will.  As  a  result 
Deity  is  made  to  appear  as  the  destroyer  of  homes,  the  maker  of 
poverty,  and  the  author  of  a  thousand  and  one  other  calamities. 
William  George  Jordan  has  very  nicely  expressed  the  truth  in 
observing  that,  "When  a  man  permits  a  torchlight  procession  to 
pass  through  a  powder  magazine,  it  is  not  courteous  for  him  to 
refer  to  the  subsequent  explosion  as  'one  of  the  mysterious  work- 
ings of  Providence.'  "     Mankind  seem  to  be  prone  to  hide  behind 


102 


IMPROVEMENT   ERA 


their  own  sins,  and  to  lay  the  result  of  transgression  at  the  door 
of  God's  desire. 

As  far  back  as  1833,  the  Lord  graciously  informed  his  people 
that  "tobacco  is  not  good  for  man."  He  further  promised  that 
obedience  to  this  and  other  of  his  laws  would  be  followed  by  en- 
lightenment of  the  intellect  and  increase  of  bodily  resistance  to  the 
point  that  distress  and  even  death  would  pass  by.  While,  of 
course,  it  is  not  expected  that  these  promises  will  be  fully  real- 
ized in  a  single  generation,  yet  it  has  conclusively  been  shown  that 
obedience  to  the  law  is  invariably  followed  by  marvelous  results. 

The  Word  of  Wisdom  has  been  taught  throughout  "Mor- 
mondom"  for  more  than  eighty  years.  It  has  been  preached  from 
the  pulpit  and  talked  at  the  fireside.  Our  people  all  know  that  the 
use  of  tobacco  is  a  violation  of  the  law  of  God.  They  know  it 
primarily  because  God  has  said  so,  and  then  they  know  it  because 
of  the  abundance  of  affirmative  physiological  evidence,  and  be- 
cause of  the  blessings  which  follow  obedience. 

Why  then  should  the  result  of  violation  of  Divine  law  he 
placed  at  the  door  of  the  One  who  is  kind  enough  to  warn  us  of 
its  existence?  The  facts  in  the  case  at  hand  are  that  the  young 
man  knowingly  violated  a  law  of  God,  a  law  of  nature,  and  he 
persisted  in  its  violation.  Had  his  heart  not  been  wrecked  by  the 
poisonous  action  of  tobacco,  it  would  have  been  strong  enough  to 
carry  him  over  the  critical  period  of  typhoid  convalescence,  and 
today  he  would  be  a  living  blessing  to  his  family  and  friends. 
But  there  ar%e  no  exceptions  to  the  lazvs  of  God;  violation  must  be 
follozved  by  penalty,  else  there  could  be  no  justice. 

Why  then  shall  we  blame  God  for  our  wrong-doings?  Why 
not  understand  that  health  and  long  life  can  come  only  through 
obedience  to  Divine  law?  Why  not  open  our  eyes  to  the  whole 
truth  of  what  we  know;  and  why,  in  such  cases  as  that  of  the 
young   man,   continue   to   sing,    "Sometime   we'll   Understand"? 

SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH 


THE   HARVESTER  OF  LIFE  AND  THE   HARVESTER  OF  DEATH    WORKING 
STDE  RY   SIDE  IN   EUROPE'S  FIELDS 


A  King  of  Western  Scouts 


BY  SOLOMON  F.  KIMBALL 


In  Three  Parts — Part  I 

Being  of  a  roaming,  restless  disposition,  Ephraim  K.  Hanks, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  enlisted,  in  1842,  as  a  sailor  on  the 
United  States  man-of-war  Columbus.  He  served  for  three  years. 
During  that  time  he  visited  many  interesting  parts  of  the  world 
and  gained  a  knowledge  of  earthly  things  that  proved  of  great 
value  to  him  in  later  years. 

Born  at  Madison,  Lake  County,  Ohio,  March  21,  1826,  he  was 
the  youngest  son  of  Benjamin  Hanks  and  Martha  Knowlden. 
He  resided  with  his  parents  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age, 
learning  the  blacksmith  trade  from  his  father  who  was  a  first- 
class  mechanic. 

On  one  of  his  ocean  voyages,  during  a  heavy  storm,  he  and 
two  of  his  companions  were  thrown  from  the  fore-royal  yard  into 
the  rigging  below.  One  of  his  mates  was  instantly  killed  and  the 
other  fell  overboard,  the  big,  blue  sharks  eating  the  body.  Eph, 
who  seems  to  have  been  a  born  athlete,  grabbed  a  dangling  rope, 
and  amid  shouts  and  cheers  from  his  companions  below,  slid  to 
the  trembling  fore-top,  where  he  calmly  waited  for  further  orders. 
This  marvelous  escape  from  death  made  him  the  hero  of  the  crew, 
and  from  that  time  on,  Eph  enjoyed  the  best  that  the  ship  could 
afford. 

When  the  Columbus  sailed  into  the  New  York  harbor,  after  a 
three  years'  cruise,  Ephraim  K.  Hanks  received  from  his  superior 
officer  an  honorable  discharge,  after  which  he  returned  to  his 
Madison  home,  a  wiser  if  not  a  better  boy.  In  the  meantime,  his 
father  had  died,  and  his  brother,  Alvin,  had  joined  the  "Mormon" 
Church  and  gone  west. 

Ephraim,  who  was  now  in  his  twentieth  year,  had  developed 
into  as  strong  a  specimen  of  manhood  as  could  be  found  in  that 
section  of  country.  He  was  thus  qualified  for  the  work  that  Prov- 
idence had  marked  out  for  him.  Being  of  a  spiritual-minded  na- 
ture, he  possessed  really  at  this  early  period  in  his  life  the  gift  of 
prophecy  to  a  considerable  extent,  though  at  that  time  he  little 
understood  such  gift.  He  was  certainly  a  man  who  was  destined 
to  perform  a  work  which  in  later  years  caused  even  the  savages  of 
the  plains  to  consider  him  with  wonder  and  amazement. 

Shortly  afte/  he  returned  home,  his  brother  Alvin,  who  was 
living  at  Nauvoo,  Til.,  had  a  dream  that  made  such  a  firm  impres- 


A  KING  OF  WESTERN   SCOUTS  105 

sion  upon  his  mind  as  to  cause  him  to  return  to  his  mother's  home 
to  learn  if  possible  its  meaning.  Once  there,  the  interpretation  was 
made  plain  to  him  as  he  beheld  his  long-absent,  seafaring  brother, 
Ephraim. 

Alvin,  who  was  bubbling  over  with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel, 
began  to  unfold  to  his  widowed  mother  and  his  brother,  Ephraim, 
the  principles  of  life  and  salvation  as  taught  by  the  Prophet  Joseph 
Smith.  He  testified  to  them  of  how  he  had  been  healed  through 
the  administration  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord. 

This  doctrine  aroused  the  ire  of  Mother  Hanks,  who  was  very- 
bitter  against  the  "Mormons."  It  ended  in  her  asking  Ephraim 
to  get  the  most  able  sectarian  ministers  that  could  be  found  in  that 
section  of  country  to  controvert  his  teachings.  As  soon  as  the 
ministers  arrived,  an  earnest  discussion  upon  the  principles  of  the 
gospel  ensued,  Alvin  holding  his  own  on  every  point  of  doctrine. 
As  usual  in  such  cases,  the  ministers  became  abusive  and  began 
to  call  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith  and  his  followers  vile  names. 

Ephraim,  who,  up  to  this  time,  had  been  a  silent  listener,  be- 
came excited  also,  grasped  a  chair  and,  pointing  to  the  door,  com- 
manded the  ministers  to  leave.  It  is  said  that  they  departed  so 
quickly  that  one  of  them  left  his  silk  hat  behind  as  a  souvenir  of 
the  occasion. 

The  young  sailor  then  and  there  made  a  vow  that  from  that 
time,  henceforth  and  forever,  he  would  be  a  defender  of  the  gos- 
pel and  of  Zion  and  her  cause,  let  come  what  may.  At  once  he 
went  to  Chicago,  thence  to  Nauvoo,  where  he  was  baptized  soon 
after  into  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  by  the 
late  Horace  S.  Eldredge.  Shortly  after,  he  was  ordained  a  Sev- 
enty. He  then  went  to  work  on  the  Temple,  where  he  remained 
until  he  joined  a  company  of  pioneers  who  were  preparing  to  go 
west.  Before  they  were  ready  to  leave,  he  was  sent  by  the  author- 
ities of  the  Church  to  Indianapolis  after  a  company  of  Saints. 
These  he  successfully  piloted  to  the  Temple  City,  returning  just 
in  time  to  join  the  pioneer  company  and  go  west  with  them  as  far 
as  Mount  Pisgah.  At  this  place  they  remained  until  President 
Brigham  Young  overtook  them  and  called  for  volunteers  to  join 
the  expedition  known  afterwards  as  "The  Mormon  Battalion." 

Ephraim  was  among  the  first  to  offer  his  services  on  that  oc- 
casion. How  faithfully,  how  nobly,  and  how  bravely  he  worked 
and  sacrificed  to  make  that  dreary  march  a  success  will  perhaps 
never  be  known  in  this  world. 

As  soon  as  the  battalion  boys  reached  San  Diego,  California,, 
Ephraim  received  an  honorable  release  from  the  officers  in  charge 
and  started  on  his  seven-hundred-mile  journey  to  meet  the  "Mor- 
mon" Pioneers.  After  passing  through  many  hardships,  he 
reached  Salt  Lake  Valley,  July  29,  1847.  Here  he  spent  the  winter 
with  the  Saints,  sharing  their  joys  and  sorrows. 

The  next  spring  he  selected  a  farm  on  Mill  Creek,  near  the  site 


HARRIET  DECKER  HANKS  AND  FOUR  GENERATIONS 

Front,  right  to  left:  Harriet  Decker  Hanks,  born  March  13,  1826;  married  E.  K. 
Hanks,  Sept.  22,  1848.  She  is  great-grandmother  of  115  children,  and  11  great-great- 
grandchildren. Mrs.  Frank  H.  Hyde.  Back  row,  left  to  right:  Mrs.  John  J.  Sears, 
Mrs.  Walter  Lawrence.     Child:  Madie  Louise  Lawrence. 

where  John  Neff  built  the  first  Utah  flour-mill.  Here  for  the  first 
time  he  commenced  to  till  the  soil.  That  fall  he  went  as  far  east 
as  the  Sweetwater  to  meet  President  Brigham  Young.  After  re- 
turning, he  was  selected  Salt  Lake  City's  first  pound-keeper,  with 
Horace  S.  Eldredge  as  his  assistant. 

But  farming  and  pound-keeping  were  too  tame  for  Eph.    As 
a  consequence  he  hired  out  to  a  Mr.  Magraw  to  carry  mail  from 


108 


IMPROVEMENT   ERA 


Salt  Lake  City  to  the  Missouri  River.  In  this#  avocation  he  was 
in  his  element,  and  during  the  next  seven  years  he  made  the  thou- 
sand-mile journey  over  the  plains  and  mountains  more  than  a  half 
hundred  times.  He  kept  no  journal,  consequently  most  of  the  inci- 
dents and  achievements  of  his  life  during  those  stirring  times  are 
lost  to  the  history  of  Utah. 

Eph  was  always  found  in  the  front  ranks,  eagerly  facing  any 
danger  that  threatened  the  Latter-day  Saints.  A  braver  man  prob- 
ably never  lived.  During  the  winter  of  1850,  we  find  him  in  com- 
pany with  about  one  hundred  of  his  comrades  fighting  hostile  In- 
dians on  the  banks  of  the  Provo  River.  He  was  one  of  the  fifteen 
invinciblcs  who  captured  the  stronghold  of  the  red  men  on  that 
occasion.  He  had  his  horse  shot  from  under  him  while  the  gallant 
charge  was  being  made.  Chief  Big  Elk,  the  leading  Indian  in  com- 
mand, with  about  fifty  of  his  warriors,  were  killed  during  the 
three-days'  battle.    The  white  men  lost  only  one. 

We  next  hear  of  this  king  of  scouts  in  the  Skull  Valley  fight, 


From  a  painting  by  H.  F.  Farney 
AN  EFFECTIVE  SHOT 

during  the  summer  of  1851.  For  several  year's  the  Goshutes  of 
Tooele  County  had  been  killing  settlers,  driving  off  their  stock, 
and  committing  various  kinds  of  depredations.  Early  one  morn- 
ing Eph  and  his  companions  charged  into  the  headquarters  of  the 
hostile  Indians,  took  them  by  surprise,  and  annihilated  nearly 
every  warrior  in  camp.  Those  were  days  that  tried  the  souls  of 
men.  For  eighteen  years  following,  Ephraim  K.  Hanks  was  cer- 
tainly one  of  these  souls  who  were  being  tested,  but  he  successfully 
emerged  from  the  ordeal. 

On  one  occasion  while  crossing  the  plains,  the  Indians  robbed 


A   KING  OF  WESTERN   SCOUTS  109 

him  of  everything  he  had,  except  his  clothing,  and  a  butcher-knife 
concealed  in  his  boot-leg  pocket.  Hundreds  of  miles  from  home, 
what  to  do  under  such  circumstances  was  enough  not  only  to 
frighten  but  to  puzzle  the  most  resourceful  mind.  Eph,  however, 
continued  on  his  way  as  if  nothing  unusual  had  happened.  Inside 
his  coat  pocket  was  an  important  message  sent  by  the  authorities 
of  the  Church  to  the  president  of  the  British  Mission.  The  failure 
to  have  that  document  reach  its  destination  might  cause  much 
sorrow  and  trouble.  Ephraim  K.  Hanks  felt  that  he  was  on  the 
Lord's  errand,  and  he  had  received  a  promise  from  the  Lord's 
authority  on  earth  that  his  mission,  on  that  occasion,  should  be 
crowned  with  success  in  every  particular. 

Our  scout  cautiously  moved  along  until  he  came  to  a  moun- 
tain stream  almost  hidden  from  view  by  heavy  clumps  of  under- 
brush. On  the  south  bank  of  the  stream  he  spied  in  the  distance 
a  herd  of  buffaloes,  warming  themselves  in  the  noonday  sun. 
Keeping  out  of  sight  until  he  came  close  in  behind  them,  with  cat- 
like agility,  he  sprang  behind  a  full-grown  cow  that  was  lying 
down,  and  cut  her  hamstrings.  He  then  killed  the  animal,  and 
jerked  as  much  of  the  meat  as  he  could  carry  with  him.  Not  far 
on  his  way,  he  came  in  sight  of  a  camp  of  Indians  belonging  to 
the  same  tribe  that  had  robbed  him  some  two  days  before.  He 
made  up  his  mind  to  "get  even"  with  them,  if  such  a  thing  were 
possible.  He  soon  located  their  herding  ground,  and  during  the 
late  hours  of  the  night  he  selected  from  their  band  of  horses  two 
of  the  finest  steeds  that  could  be  found.  By  daylight,  the  next 
morning,  he  was  thirty-five  miles  on  his  way  and  still  going.  He 
reached  Fort  Laramie  the  next  day,  and  secured  from  the  govern- 
ment officers  another  outfit  which  enabled  him  to  reach  the  Mis- 
souri River  several  days  ahead  of  schedule  time. 

One  of  the  strange  personal  peculiarities  of  Eph  was  that  he 
had  double  front  teeth  as  well  as  double  back  teeth.  He  could 
bite  accordingly.  His  stomach  was  very  strong,  and  it  is  a  fact 
that  he  could  masticate  a  chunk  of  broiled  rawhide  just  as  read- 
ily as  an  ordinary  person  could  a  piece  of  boiled  beef.  On 
occasions,  when  his  food  supply  was  exhausted  and  could  not  be 
replenished,  he  has  been  known  to  kill  his  pack-mule  and  eat  of 
that  until  a  badger  or  other  wild  animal  could  be  obtained  to  take 
its  place.  He  crossed  the  plains  during  the  winter  months  with  as 
much  readiness  as  during  any  other  season  of  the  year.  It  seemed 
not  to  matter  what  conditions  were,  for  he  was  always  equal  to  the 
emergencies. 

On  one  of  his  trips  across  the  plains,  he  fell  into  the  hands 
of  a  band  of  hostile  Utes  who  began  to  arrange  matters  to  burn 
him  at  the  stake.  Eph,  being  somewhat  acquainted  with  the  ways 
of  the  wild-men  of  the  west,  soon  devised  means  to  prevent  them 
from  carrying  out  their  nefarious  designs.     He  knew  that  Indians 


INDIANS  OF  THE  PLAINS 

Top  Row,  left  to  right:  Sa-lo-so,  son  of  Satanta,  Kiowa;  Sa-tank,  Kiowa  chief, 
killed  near  Fort  Sill,  Iowa,  June,  1874;  Black  Hawk,  Apache  chief. 

Center  Row:     Kicking  Bird,  Kachita  chief;  Now-way,  Comanche  chief. 

Bottom  Row:  Rig  T*ee,  Kiowa  chief;  Otter  Belt,  Comanche  chief;  Horse  Back, 
Cc  tranche  chief. 


A    KING   OF    WESTERN    SCOUTS  111 

were  dreadfully  afraid  of  insane  persons,  and  that  a  tradition  ex- 
isted among  them  that  if  such  a  one  were  killed  at  their  hands  it 
would  bring  destruction  upon  them.. So,  to  save  his  life,  he  began,  it 
is  said,  to  play  the  part  of  a  crazy  man,-  by  singing  songs,  dancing 
jigs,  making  faces,  and  exhibiting  his  double  front  teeth  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  cause  a  general  commotion  throughout  the  camp. 
Seeing  that  the  Red  men  feared  him,  he  began  to  tear  tents,  turn 
summersaults,  chase  bucks,  break  bows,  being  buckets,  burn  bed- 
ding, and  many  other  seemingly  insane  things, 

That  sent  the  fleeing  Red  man,  to  caverns,  coves  and  cave; 
To  hide  from  "pe-up''  captive,  that  cranky,  crazy  brave. 


A  Mountain  Thunderstorm 


I  followed  far  the  canyon's  course,  dividing  mountains  high; 

On  either  hand  the  peaks  pierced  through  the  clouds  that  lined  the  sky; 

A  frantic  torrent  at  my  feet  dashed  over  jagged  rocks; 

The  canyon's  floor  was  wildly  strewn  with  huge  volcanic  blocks. 

T  climbed  and  leaped  as  on  I  pressed  o'er  crag  and  tangled  vine, 
While  higher  and  still  higher  grew  the  walls  that  here  define 
The  gorge's  narrow,  winding  depths,  where  sunshine  is  unknown, 
And  nature's  secret  powers  have  built  God's  battlements  of  stone. 

Anon  the  echoes  were  aroused  by  blue  jay's  saucy  scream, 
A  mountain  sheep  or  graceful  deer  leaped  o'er  the  foaming  stream; 
A  crow's  harsh  cry,  and  dove's  soft  note  were  borne  upon  the  air, 
While  squirrel's  chirp  and  lone  wolf's  howl  disturbed  the  quiet  there. 

A  thousand  living  things  were  there,  bright  birds  and  beasts  so  wild, 

Each  in  its  sphere  rejoicing-,  as  nature  on  them  smiled; 

But  hark!  an  ominous  roar  assails  the  stillness  of  the  scene, 

And  o'er  the  northern  sky  there  shoots  the  lightning's  vivid  sheen. 

Then  black  and  thunder-laden  clouds  the  canyon  quickly  fill, 
And  suddenly  both  bird  and  beast  become  alert  and  still. 
One  moment  all  is  motionless,  all,  leaf  and  foot  and  wing; 
Then  quickly  flees  to  shelter  each  living,  moving  thing. 

Now  bursts  upon  the  heavy  gloom  a  roar  that  shakes  the  earth; 
The  mountains  tremble  at  its  power  so  quickly  given  birth; 
Then  swiftly  follows  flash  on  flash  of  lightning's  blinding  glare, 
And  heaven's  flood-gates  in  the  sky  pour  rivers  through  the  air. 

The  cannon  of  the  gods  bombard  those  mountain  walls  so  vast, 
And  torrents  from  the  firmament  continue  to  pour  fast. 
Terrific  peal  on  peal  resounds,  and  flash  on  flash  comes  bright, 
While  nature  seems  to  stand  o'erawed,  and  trembles  with  affright. 

The  fury  of  the  elements  so  fierce  is  quickly  o'er; 

The  cannonading  ceases,  and  the  lightning  gleams  no  more; 

The  clouds  roll  back  disclosing  a  sky  of  brightest  blue, 

And  bird  and  beast  again  come  forth,  and  work  or  sport  renew. 

All  life  had  seemed  imperiled  by  the  terrors  of  the  storm, 
But  strange  to  tell,  no  living  thing  had  known  the  slightest  harm. 
While  nature's  forces  fiercely  ra.yed,  a  kind,  protecting  power 
Safeguarded  bird  and  bensf  ?i like,  through  that  appalling  hour. 

B.  F.  Cummings 


The  Navajo  Indians 


15Y    J.    F.    ANDERSON,    PRINCIPAL    MILLARD    COUNTY    HIGH    SCHOOL, 
AND  MEMBER  OF  THE  UTAH  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  EXPEDITION,  1913 


The  largest  Indian  reservation  in  the  United  States  occupies 
something  more  than  eighteen  million  acres  right  in  the  heart  of 
the  great  southwest,  and  has  a  population  of  about  twenty-seven 
thousand  Navajos.     This  arid  area  of  the  Navajo  reservation  is 

three  times  as  large  as  the  state 
of  Massachusetts,  twenty-six 
times  the  area  of  Rhode  Island, 
and  more  than  half  as  large  as 
England  and  Wales.  It  includes 
parts  of  the  states  of  New  Mex- 
ico, Arizona  and  Utah. 

Because  of  the  scattered  pas- 
toral life  of  the  Navajos,  and  the 
roughness  of  the  country,  the 
population  can  only  be  estimated. 
The  census  of  1910  places  the  es- 
timate at  twenty-seven  thousand, 
showing  an  increase  of  about 
eighteen  thousand  since  Kit  Car- 
son counted  them,  at  the  time  of 
the  Bosque  Rodondo  in  the  six- 
ties. They  are  still  rapidly  in- 
creasing, and  are  one  of  the  few 
tribes  in  America  that  are  thriv- 
ing under  the  restraints  of  reser-, 
vation  life. 

The  Navajos  are  wards  of  the  government,  but  may  be  said  xo 
be  self-supporting.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  the  government  at 
Washington  to  interfere  as  little  as  possible  with  the  civil  life  of 
the  tribe.  Their  system  of  government  is  surprisingly  advanced 
and  is  almost  a  pure  democracy.  The  "head  men"  and  their  sub- 
ordinates hold  office  by  popular  voice  and  the  tenure  of  office 
hinges  on  good  behavior  and  prowess.  They  will  "recall"  an  in- 
competent official  and  select  a  successor  who,  by  personality  cour- 
age and  superior  wisdom,  possesses  the  confidence  of  his  tribes- 
men. 

All  have  suffrage  in  Navajo  land— women  as  well  as  men. 


THE  HOGAN  OR  HOME  OF  THE 
NAVAJO 

It  is  built  of  posts,  bark  and  earth.     The 
entrance  always   faces  the   east. 


THE  NAVAJO   INDIANS 


113 


One  may  rise  from  poverty  and  obscurity  to  power  and  prestige. 
There  is  no  chief  over  the  whole  tribe,  but  a  number  of  "head 
men."  When  one  of  these  dies,  his  son  may  or  may  not  succeed 
him,  depending  upon  the  will  of  the  people. 

The  tribe  impresses  one  as  an  unusually  strong,  virile,  indus- 
trious and  intelligent  type  of.  red  men.  Due  in  part  to  their  con- 
tact with  whites  of  the  better  type,  they  are  rapidly  forsaking 
some  of  the  meaner  propensities,  both  native  and  those  acquired 
from  early  Spanish  explorers. 

The  person  who  seems  to  be  influencing  the  life  of  Navajos 
most  is  Mrs.  John  Wetherill  of  the  Kayenta  trading  post,  Arizona. 


Photo  by  Brooks,  Utah  Arch.  Exped. 
THE  NAVAJO  AND  HIS  HORSE  ON  THE  PAINTED  DESERT 

This  cultured  woman  wields  more  power  among  them  than  any 
chief,  or  "head  man."  She  is  a  white  woman  adopted  into  the 
tribe  and  is  a  real  leader  among  them,  holding  her  position  as  a 
recognition  by  the  Indians  of  her  sympathetic  interest  in  their 
life.  A  queen  could  hardly  be  more  loved  by  her  subjects.  She 
is  at  once  the  judge,  physician,  interpreter,  adviser  and  best  friend 
of  her  devoted  wards.  She  knows  their  language  perfectly  and 
has  so  aided  them  in  modifying  many  of  their  festivals  and  cere- 
monies as  to  rid  them  of  the  more  gruesome  and  cruel  features. 
She  has  even  been  able  to  exercise  an  uplifting  influence  on  their 
marriage  and  divorce  customs,  which  has  not  been  easy,  for  they 


114 


IMPROVEMENT   ERA 


have  long  been  accustomed  to  trial  marriages,  changing  their 
wives  or  increasing  their  numbers  as  often  as  they  were  inclined, 
without  restriction. 

Some  of  the  social  customs  of  the  Navajo  are  peculiarly 
primitive.  They  are  conservative  traders  and  know  how  to  drive 
a  good  bargain.  As  media  of  exchange,  they  use  beads,  silver 
ornaments  of  their  own  handiwork,  goats,  sheep,  horses,  and 
anything  of  value.  Garnets  and  turquoises  are  convenient  forms 
of  native  money.  Until  recent  years  they  even  bartered  in  slaves, 
but  this  practice  is  almost,  if  not  quite,  abandoned.     A  Navajo 

will  seldom  accept  a  check  or  a 
greenback,  for  he  is  unable  to 
determine  its  value  and,  be- 
sides, is  suspicious  of  paper 
money.  They  have  a  tendency 
to  extravagant  borrowing 
among  themselves,  resulting 
in  a  system  of  peonage  like 
that  in  Mexico.  A  Navajo  is 
nearly  always  willing  to  sign 
a  promissory  note.  The  sig- 
nature is  often  an  X,  or  the 
thumb  print  of  the  signer  on 
paper,  or  a  substitute  for 
paper. 

Like  most  aborigines,  the 
Navajo  is  not  always  ready  to 
redeem  his  pledge,  and  his 
failure  to  do  so  often  brings 
about  a  disagreeable  situation, 
frequently  ending  in  a  quarrel. 
He  is  an  "Indian  trader"  and 
thinks  it  his  privilege  to  "trade 
back"  at  will. 

Self-torture  is  not  uncom- 
mon and  is  practiced  in  some 
of  their  ceremonies.  They  are  prone  to  demonstrate  their  stoi- 
cism by  self-scourging  or  by  subjecting  themselves  to  ordeals  of 
endurance  to  arouse  admiration  and  to  inure  themselves  to  pain. 

The  Navajo  enjoys  a  good  joke,  and  after  he  loses  his  native 
reticence  he  laughs  heartily.  A  man  with  keen  wit  is  held  in  high 
esteem  and  a  huddlcchczzly  (humorist)  never  lacks  company. 

Honesty  is  a  leading  virtue  among  them.  Petty  thieving  is 
almost  entirely  absent,  but  the  less  scrupulous  among  them  will 
sometimes  perpetrate  a  theft  on  a  large  scale,  if  there  is  little  dan- 
ger of  detection.  Once  detected,  however,  they  will  frankly  con- 
fess the  deed.     During  all  his  travels  among  the  Navajos,  Prof. 


Photo  by  Harper,   Utah  Arch.  Exped. 
A     NAVATO     LEATHER     ARTIST     AT 

WORK  IN  HIS  FOREST  HOME 

It    is    a   land    of   contrast — the    forests    and 

desert  plains  side  by  side. 


I'll  E    NAVAJO    INDIANS 


115 


Byron  Cummings  of  the  Utah  Expedition  has  never  lost,  by  theft, 
a  single  article  of  equipment.  Camp  could  always  be  left  with  the 
assurance  that  bridles,  guns,  tools  and  food  would  be  undisturbed. 

The  attitude  of  the  Navajo  toward  telling  a  lie  is  quite  the 
reverse.  He  will  lie  glibly,  but  when  his  falsehood  is  discovered 
he  confesses  frankly  without  sign  of  embarrassment. 

Both  women  and  men  smoke.  When  the  early  Spanish  ex- 
plorers penetrated  the  country  they  found  the  Indians  smoking  the 


Photo  by  Harper,  Utah  Arch.  Exped. 
TYPICAL  SCENERY  IN  NAVAJO  LAND 

leaves  of  native  plants,  using  hollow  reeds  as  cigarettes.  Since 
the  introduction  of  tobacco  it  has  been  preferred  to  the  native 
plants. 

Their  method  of  salutation  is  not  elaborate  except  in  the 
meeting  of  relatives  and  friends  who  have  long  been  separated. 
At  such  a  meeting,  close  relatives  will  sometimes  embrace  each 
other.  They  never  shake  hands  nor  kiss,  except  where  they  have 
been  taught  to  do  so  by  the  Pelicanos  (Americans).  Ordinarily 
in  meeting  they  simply  face  each  other  with  a  pleased  look,  and 
remain  silent  as  a  rule.  When  enemies  or  persons  unfriendly  to 
each  other  meet,  there  is  no  sign  of  recognition  unless  the  ani- 
mosity is  so  great  as  to  provoke  a  quarrel. 

Their  methods  of  transportation  are  primitive.  They  travel 
on  desert  mustangs,  on  burros  or  afoot.     The  endurance  of  a 


116 


IMPROVEMENT   ERA 


Navajo  is  almost  as  remarkable  as  that  of  a  Hopi.  A  native  can 
trot  all  day  alongside  a  horse  with  only  a  little  parched  corn  and 
water  for  food  and  will  show  little  fatigue.  The  Navajo  is  a  child 
of  the  desert,  and  adapted  by  nature  to  survive  in  a  land  of  thirst, 
--cant  food  and  a  torrid  sun. 

Superstition  is  a  ruling  factor  in  Navajo  life.  Numerous* 
taboos,  bugaboos,  mystic  myths  and  legends  enthrall  the  minds  of 
these  credulous  people. 

All  water  animals  are  taboo,  and  it  is  considered  a  serious 
religious  offense  to  shed  the  blood  or  eat  the  flesh  of  fish,  ducks, 
beavers,  otters  or  any  aquatic  animal.  Eggs  are  also  banned.  It 
is  believed  that  a  water  animal  is  the  second  incarnation  of  an  un- 
faithful woman,  and  is  therefore  chindce  (possessed  of  evil 
spirits). 

To  whistle  after  dark  may  bring  great  disaster,  they  believe, 
and  all  whistling  is  confined  to  daylight  hours.     A  native  horse- 
wrangler  with  the  Utah  expedition,  who  could  whistle  loudly  and 
beautifully,  steadfastly  refused  to  whistle  one  night  to  attract  the 
attention  of  lost  comrades.     He  preferred  to 
yell. 

,  They  believe  that  spirits  of  the  other  world 
give  them  warnings  manifested  by  ringing  in 
tie  ears,  belching,  biting  the  tongue  and  nu- 
merous other  happenings.  For  instance,  a  jour- 
ney will  often  be  abandoned  if  a  ringing  in 
the  ears  is  felt  upon  starting  out.  Religious 
rites,,  chants,  and  songs  out  of  season  are  con- 
sidered to  invite  disaster.  Games  and  legends 
out  of  season  are  scrupulously  avoided. 

The  most  troublesome  taboo  of  all  is  the 
-—&  which  prohibits  a  man  from  looking  upon 
the  face  of  his  mother-in-law.  They  believe 
that  those  who  violate  this  taboo  will  in  time 
become  blind.  This,  they  declare,  is  the  reason 
that  so  many  Navajos  are  blind.  For  a  person 
to  be  blind  is  to  them  indication  that  such  per- 
son or  a  near  relative  has  violated  the  mother- 
in-law  tabco,  and  thus  incurred  the  wrath  of 
the  gods.  ,JBut  there  is  a  natural  reason  for  so  much  blindness 
among  the  Indians  of  the  desert.  The  glaring  sunlight,  intensified 
by  its  reflection  from  the  many-colored  sands  and  cliffs  is,  in  time, 
destructive  to  the  strongest  retina.  Members  of  the  Utah  Expedi- 
tion protected  their  eyes  with  amber-colored  glasses. 

In  order  to  avoid  being  seen  by  her  son-in-law,  a  mother  will 
arrange  to  visit  her  daughter  during  the  absence  from  home  of 
the  husband.  The  daughter,  unaccompanied  by  her  husband,  may 
visit  her  mother's  home  at  any  time  and  remain  as  long  as  she 


Photo  by  Fracier. 
Utah  Arch.  Exped. 

A  TYPICAL  YOUNG 
NAVAJO    ERAVE 


THE   NAVAJO   INDIANS 


117 


desires  without  being  called  for  by  her  husband,  whose  only 
recourse  is  to  send  a  friend  or  a  relative  for  his  squaw.  If  the 
mother  of  a  maiden  be  a  widow,  a  man  will  sometimes  overcome 
the  mother-in-law  taboo  by  first  marrying  the  mother  and  then 
the  daughter.  Thus  he  escapes 
the  taboo  by  becoming  his 
own  father-in-law. 

The  taboo  forbids  the  kill- 
ing, by  shedding  blood,  of  a 
bear,  coyote,  wildcat,  eagle  or 
snake.  These  animals  are 
either  to  be  avoided  or  killed 
bv  strangulation.  Carcasses 
of  all  animals  not  used  for 
food  are  avoided. 

The  birth  of  a  child  dur- 
ing an  eclipse  of  the  sun  is 
considered  a  bad  omen,  and  the 
wrath  of  the  gods  can  only  be 
appeased,  they  believe,  by  the 
killing  of   the   child   at   birth. 


Photo   by  Ryncarson,    Utah  Arch.  Exped. 

PROF.  CUMMINGS  MEETING  TWO  OF 

HIS    NAVAJO    FRIENDS    AT 

MONTICELLO,   UTAH 

These  Indians  have  just  brought  in  a 
band  of  desert  mustangs  for  the  use  of  the 
Utah  expedition. 

During  an  eclipse  it  is  required 
that  everyone  remain  in  absolute 
silence. 

Manifestations  of  greed  or 
gluttony  are  religiously  avoided. 
Hoarding  is  so  strongly  banned 
that  misers  are  unknown. 

Almost  invariably  the  Nava- 
jos  will  object  to  being  photo- 
graphed. They  have  been  told 
by  their  medicine  men  that  a 
cameia  is  an  instrument  contain- 
vvetherill  and  one  of  j„g  evil  spirits  which  enter  the 
her  navajo  wards  body  of  the  person  photographed. 

They  also  believe  that  one  who  is  photographed  loses  strength 


Photo  by  Stratton,  Utah  Arch.  Exped. 
MRS 


118 


IMPROVEMENT   ERA 


and  that  the  strength  lost  goes  to  compose  the  picture  taken.  It 
is  almost  impossible  to  induce  them  to  pose  for  a  picture,  even 
for  a  money  consideration.  They  know  so  little  of  the  mechanism 
of  the  camera,  however,  that  it  is  often  possible  to  "snap"  them 
without  being  discovered  in  the  act.  If  a  Navajo  discovers  that 
his  picture  has  been  taken  without  his  consent;  his  rage  is  terrible, 
and  the  unfortunate  photographer  does  well  to  save  his  camera 
from  being  demolished  by  the  offended  savage.  One  of  the 
Navajo  guides  with  the  Utah  party  deserted  the  expedition  for  a 
whole  day,  at  a  critical  time,  because  he  discovered  that  an  attempt 
had  been  made  to  photograph  him. 

The  Navajo  is  a  proud,  independent,  industrious  Indian,  high 


Photo  by  Brooks,   Utah  Arch.  E.vped. 
NAVAJO  CHILDREN   CARRYING  WATER  IN  WATER-TIGHT  BASKETS 
Water   is   a   scarce   and    precious    necessity    in   the   Painted    Desert. 

in  the  scale  of  intelligence.  He  does  so  well  under  his  own  system 
of  government  and  social  life  that  it  is  not  likely  that  the  govern- 
ment at  Washington  will  radically  interfere. 


Anthon  L.  Skanchy 

A  Brief  Autobiographical  Sketch  of  the  Missionary  Labors 
of  a  Valiant  Soldier  for  Christ 


TRANSLATED  AND  EDITED  BY  DR.    JOHN   A.   WIDTSOE 


INTRODUCTION 

The  missionary  labors  of  the  elders  of  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  would  form  a  most  interesting  chapter 
in  the  history  of  human  endeavor.  Every  experience  seems  to 
have  fallen  to  the  lot  of  "Mormon"  missionaries,  who  have  labored 
under  every  clime  and  among  all  classes  and  races  of  people. 
Taken,  by  a  sudden  call,  from  the  home,  workshop,  field,  store  or 
office,  they  have  gone  out  at  their  own  expense,  with  no  special 
training  in  speaking  or  argument,  to  teach  to  all  the  world  a 
system  of  eternal  truth,  against  which  mighty  forces  have  ever 
been  arrayed.  The  third  generation  of  this  volunteer  army  is 
now  carrying  the  gospel  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  the  vigor 
of  the  work  is  unabated. 

The  plain,  unstudied  sketch  herewith  presented  of  a  few  of 
the  missionary  experiences  of  an  elder  who  spent  a  third  of  his 
long,  mature  life  in  foreign  missionary  service  can  be  duplicated 
by  hundreds  of  the  missionaries  of  the  Church.  Simple  and 
straightforward  these  sketches  are ;  yet,  between  the  lines,  may  be 
read  every  human  emotion,  from  the  highest  exaltation  of  spirit 
to  the  darkest  despair.  It  would  be  well  if  many  such  missionary 
lives  could  be  published  for  the  encouragement  of  all  who  desire 
to  battle  fearlessly  for  righteousness. 

Bishop  Anthon  L.  Skanchy  died  on  April  19,  1914,  after  a 
lingering  illness  of  several  years.  In  the  midst  of  the  pain  of  this 
sickness  he  wrote  these  sketches,  chiefly  of  his  early  mission  when 
he  had  the  privilege  of  opening  the  gospel  door  in  the  beautifully 
majestic  land  of  the  midnight  sun,  and  of  bringing  hundreds  into 
the  Church.  He  wrote  in  his  mother  tongue,  which  he  loved  so 
well.  The  eloquent  directness,  as  well  as  the  severe  repression 
of  feeling,  characteristic  of  the  northern  people,  are  on  every 
page. 

A  few  weeks  before  his  death,  Bishop  Skanchy  entrusted  his 
manuscript  to  me,  to  do  with  it  as  I  might  see  fit.  He  hoped  that, 
somehow,  his  experiences  might  strengthen  the  testimonies  of 
others.  The  missionary  instinct  was  strong  within  him.  I  have 
rendered  it  freely  into  English,  and.  while  in  so  doing  it  has  lost 


120  IMPROVEMENT   ERA 

peculiarly  eloquent  flavor,  I  hope  it  has  not  wholly  lost  its  power 
for  good.  I  should  greatly  love  to  fulfil  the  wish  of  the  noble 
author  of  these  sketches,  who  was  the  instrument  in  the  hands  of 
God  of  bringing  to  the  family  to  which  I  belong,  and  to  me,  the 
priceless  gift  of  an  understanding  of  the  gospel. 

That  thousands  of  such  strong  men  as  was  Anthon  L.  Skanchy 
could  and  do  find  a  life's  satisfaction  in  the  gospel,  in  spite  of  the 
hardships  and  contempt  they  must  endure,  is  a  strong  testimony 
of  the  inherent  vitality  of  the  message  of  the  Prophet  Joseph 
Smith. 

I.OGAN,    UTAH 

CONTENTS. 

I.  Early  Years.  II.  I  Accept  the  Gospel.  III.  I  Go  on  My 
First  Mission.  IV.  Missionary  Labors  in  Nordland  and  Fin- 
marken.  V.  Again  Before  the  Courts.  VI.  How  I  spent  the 
Winter  in  Nordland.  VII.  The  Lord  Sends  me  Money  and  More 
Friends.  VIII.  I  am  Released  from  My  First  Mission.  IX.  I 
Labor  in  Aalesund.  X.  I  Preside  in  Christiania.  XL  The  Land  of 
Zion.  XII.  My  Third  Mission.  XIII.  My  Fourth  Mission.  XIV. 
Quiet  Years  of  Home  Service.  XV.  My  Fifth  Mission.  XVI. 
The  Last  Word.  XVII.  The  Sixth  Mission.  XVIII.  The  End 
of  the  Journey. 

If  any  of  my  friends  should  interest  themselves  in  reading 
parts  of  my  life's  history,  of  my  missions  especially  in  the  northern 
parts  of  Norway,  they  may  do  so  in  this  short  report,  and  they 
may  depend  upon  it  that  what  is  here  written  is  the  truth. 

I.       EARLY   YEARS 

I,  Anthon  L.  Skanchy,  was  born  in  Trondhjem,  Norway,  Sep- 
tember 17,  1839,  the  seventh  child  of  Elling  Lornsen  Skanchy,  and 
Mina  Ansjon.  My  father  was  a  sea-faring  man,  well  known,  and 
much  sought  after  as  a  pilot  in  northern  Norway.  He,  as  many 
other  sea-faring  men  of  that  day,  became  addicted'  to  strong  drink, 
and  consequently,  though  he  earned  well,  there  was  poverty  in 
the  home.  My  dear  mother  was  compelled  to  work  both  day  and 
night  to  keep  the  children,  who  numbered  seven  in  all. 

From  the  time  I  was  eight  years  old,  I  had  to  work  and  earn 
something  for  the  family.  My  boyhood  was  spent  by  the  water, 
where  the  great  fjord  comes  in  from  the  ocean.  The  shore  was 
low  and  level,  and  great  sand-spits  ran  out  into  the  water.  There 
the  water  ebbed  and  flowed  every  six  and  one  half  hours,  through 
a  distance  of  eight  or  ten  feet.  When  the  water  was  low  we  could 
'go  out  to  the  sand  spits  into  the  fjord,  and  there  I  used  to  fish  with 
one  hundred  hooks  on  my  line,  baited  with  sand  worms       The 


BISHOP  ANTHON  L.  SKANCHY 


Born,  Trondhjem,  Norway,  Sept.  17,  1839;  died,  Logan,  Utah, 
April  19,  1914 


122  IMPROVEMENT   ERA 

line  was  left  on  the  sand,  with  the  end  secured,  and  after  thirteen 
hours,  the  water  again  was  low  and  the  lines  lay  in  the  dry  sand 
with  the  fish  that  had  been  caught  by  the  hooks.  The  fish  thus 
caught  furnished  some  means  to  the  support  of  the  family.  As  I 
grew  a  little  older  I  was  employed  by  a  fisherman,  who  owned  his 
own  boat,  and  with  him  learned  how  to  fish.  I  also  worked  be- 
tween times  in  the  rope  factory,  where  I  later  became  apprenticed 
and  learned  the  trade  well. 

The  school  naturally  was  neglected,  and  I  was  there  only 
once  in  a  while.  When  I  was  thirteen  years  old  I  began,  however, 
to  see  the  necessity  of  taking  proper  hold  of  my  schooling,  and 
determined  to  use  my  whole  time  in  the  attempt  to  win  back  what 
I  had  lost.  My  mother  could  not  earn  all  the  necessaries  of  life 
for  me  and  herself,  and  during  this  period  I  learned  to  know  the 
gna wings  of  hunger  and  the  effects  of  hunger  upon  my  system. 
A  young  school  boy  as  I  was  could  not  grow  and  develop  without 
proper  and  sufficient  food.  Those  days  I  can  never  forget.  My 
mother  had  a  little  house  of  three  rooms,  built  on  rented  ground. 
In  a  little  garden  around  the  house  she  raised  potatoes  with  which 
to  pay  the  larger  part  of  the  rent  of  the  land.  Because  of  broken 
health  and  the  weakness  of  age  my  father  had  been  compelled  to 
quit  the  sea-faring  life,  and  had  journeyed  to  his  oldest  son  who 
lived  far  up  in  Nordland.    There  my  father  resided  until  his  death. 

I  gave  all  my  time  to  schooling  during  three  years.  I  was 
determined  to  win  back  what  I  had  lost,  and  my  interest  was 
centered  on  the  school,  and  as  a  result  I  made  good  progress. 
Among  other  things  I  was  taught  the  Lutheran  religion,  and  we 
had  regular  lessons  in  the  history  of  the  Bible,  and  explanations 
of  the  events  and  doctrines  found  in  both  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testaments.  These  books  on  Bible  history  we  were  obliged  to 
learn  by  heart,  and  I  learned  my  lessons  well.  This  became  a 
good  foundation  for  me  in  the  practice  and  preaching  of  my  dear 
religion  of  the  future  and,  through  this  knowledge  of  the  Bible, 
I  learned  to  understand  a  little  of  the  Lord's  dealings  with  the 
children  of  men,  which  became  a  great  blessing  and  relief  to  me  in 
the  mission  field  and  at  home. 

After  three  years  of  school  work  I  was  confirmed,  with  a 
very  good  grade,  in  the  Lutheran  church.  I  had  worked  now  and 
then  in  the  rope  walks  and  had  become  greatly  interested  in  this 
work.  I  then  apprenticed  myself  to  a  rope  factory,  the  owner  of 
which  was  T.  H.  Berg.  I  was  permitted  to  remain  at  home  with 
my  mother,  and  received  about  $1.12  a  week  for  my  support  in 
return  for  my  service.  This  was  pretty  good,  and  occasionally 
T  earned  something  extra  between  times.  As  I  remained  at  home 
it  was  possible  for  me  to  have  a  little  more  liberty  than  I  would 
have  had,  had  I  remained  with  the  other  apprentices  in  the  house- 
hold of  the  master. 


ANTHON    L.   SKANCHY  123 

Since  I  had  now  left  the  school,  in  which  I  had  been  so  in- 
tensely interested,  I  became  possessed  of  a  kind  of  melancholy 
which  led  me  to  seek  the  Lord  and  to  study  religion  more  closely. 
I  went  for  help  to  the  Lutheran  priest  who  had  confirmed  me,  and 
he  loaned  me  several  books  on  religion  and  other  books  containing 
much  useful  information,  in  which  I  interested  myself  for  some 
time.  Nevertheless,  I  found  no  satisfaction  as  a  result  of  my 
reading;  in  fact,  I  hardly  knew  what  I  was  reading. 

One  Sunday,  in  the  summer  of  1860,  I  went  to  the  church 
located  a  short  distance  beyond  the  city.  A  little  valley  lies  by 
the  side  of  the  main  road.  I  went  into  this  valley,  under  some 
trees,  and  bent  upon  my  knees  and  prayed  to  the  Lord  with  a 
loud  voice.  Immediately  came  a  moment  of  great  exaltation,  but 
followed  quickly  by  a  voice  which  spoke  to  me  in  a  contemptuous 
tone: 

"What  is  wrong  with  you  ?  What  do  you  want  ?  You  come 
here  and  bend  upon  your  knees  as  a  child ;  you,  who  have  learned 
your  profession  so  well ;  you,  who  have  so  many  friends,  and  have 
so  much  honor  and  respect !    Are  you  not  ashamed  ?" 

Under  the  influence  of  this  voice  I  began  to  feel  almost 
ashamed  of  myself,  and  of  what  I  was  doing.  Presently,  how- 
ever, I  broke  through  the  mist,  and  was  given  power  to  rebuke  the 
evil  spirits  and  to  compel  them  to  draw  back.  Then  a  great  joy 
rested  upon  my  soul.  I  prayed  for  light.  From  that  time  on,  I  felt 
as  free  as  a  bird  in  the  air. 

In  the  fall  of  1860,  I  finished  my  apprenticeship.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  contract,  I  received  my  last  year's  pay,  $14;  a  suit 
of  new  black  clothes ;  new  shoes ;  a  silk  velvet  hat  of  the  best  kind, 
and,  in  the  evening,  a  splendid  dinner.  It  was  customary  at  the 
end  of  the  apprenticeship  to  do  a  piece  of  work  as  a  proof  that  the 
business  had  been  thoroughly  learned.  I  was  required  to  make  a 
long  rope,  used  by  ships  in  measuring  the  number  of  knots  traveled 
per  hour.  I  made  such  a  rope,  and  it  was  accepted  as  very  good 
by  the  shipping  committee.  After  my  apprenticeship  was  over  I 
was  offered  work  in  the  same  factory,  but  with  the  difference  that 
I  was  to  receive  the  pay  of  a  master  workman.  In  those  days 
there  was  great  traffic  in  rope,  because  wire  cables  had  not  yet  been 
introduced,  and  there  was  much  building  and  travel  of  ships  in  the 
city  of  Trondhjem. 

II.       I  ACCEPT  THE  GOSPEL 

My  uncle  Cornelius  and  his  wife,  who  owned  a  house  in  the 
city,  a  short  time  before  had  been  baptized  into  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  by  the  brothers  Dorius,  who  were 
the  first  missionaries  in  the  northern  part  of  Norway.  I  visited 
this  aunt  and  presented  her  with  a  clothes  line  which  I  had  made. 


124  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

My  aunt  was  a  well  spoken  lady,  very  fervent  in  her  faith,  and  she 
immediately  began  to  bombard  me  with  "Mormonism."  In  fact, 
she  gave  me  rather  more  than  I  needed  at  one  time.  When  I  left 
she  lent'  me  a  lot  of  tracts  and  Scandinavian  Stars  for  me  to  read. 
These  I  began  to  read,  and  compared  what  I  read  with  the  Bible. 

I  had  my  own  room  in  our  home  and  spent  all  my  spare  time 
in  the  study  of  the  Bible  and  the  "Mormon"  books.  I  soon  bor- 
rowed more  gospel  literature  and  studied  it,  with  the  Bible,  both 
day  and  night,  and  prayed  to  God  for  aid  and  guidance  in  the 
investigation.,  The  testimony  that  I  had  the  truth  came  to  me. 
more  strongly,  until,  as  it  were,  I  became  transformed  both  in 
body  and  spirit  through  the  saving  message  of  the  gospel. 

In  those  days,  many  kinds  of  spirits  made  themselves  known, 
but  this  had  no  influence  upon  me,  for  I  had  seen  even  the  evil 
one  in  the  days  that  I  attended  school.  This  may  sound  peculiar, 
but  I  have,  in  truth,  seen  with  my  material  eyes,  evil  spirits  in 
different  appearances,  and  under  such  varying  conditions  that  I  am 
absolutely  convinced  of  their  existence  among  us.  Both  good  and 
evil  spirits  are  among  us  even  here  in  the  valleys  of  the  moun- 
tains. I  am  ever  grateful  to  the  Lord  that  he  has  permitted  me  to 
see  and  hear  such  things,  as  they  have  been  of  great  use  to  me  in 
my  life's  journey.  When  I  investigated  the  gospel  I  established 
an  unspeakable  faith  in  the  apostle's  counsel  that  the  Saints  should 
seek  after  spiritual  gifts.  I  have  the  same  faith  and  conviction 
today. 

I  reflected  much  upon  the  message  that  had  come  to  me, 
without  saying  much  to  any  one.  There  was  a  missionary  in 
Trondhjem,  Thomasen,  by  name,  from  Christiania,  a  well  informed 
and  talented  man ;  also  another  named  John  Dahle,  from  Bergen. 
These  missionaries  conducted  meetings  among  the  Saints,  but  I 
did  not  visit  their  meetings,  for  I  was  very  retiring  in  my  disposi- 
tion. Meanwhile  my  oldest  sister,  Mrs.  Martha  Hagen,  had  in- 
vestigated the  gospel  and  was  baptized.  Shortly  afterward  I  also 
became  so  strongly  convinced  of  the  truth  of  "Mormonism"  that  I 
went  to  Elder  Thomasen  and  asked  to  be  baptized.  In  the  evening 
of  the  16th  of  January,  1861,  I  was  baptized  at  Trondhjem,  under 
a  most  pleasant  influence. 

After  my  baptism,  I  presented  myself  at  one  of  the  meetings 
of  the  Saints.  It  was  the  first  time  that  I  had  attended.  Some  of 
the  faithful  old  sisters  doubted  my  sincerity,  since  I  had  not  be- 
fore attended  their  meetings ;  moreover,  it  was  looked  upon  as  a 
wonder  that  a  young  man,  like  myself,  could  face  the  persecution 
sure  to  follow  the  acceptance  of  a  religion  so  despised  as  was 
"Mormonism."  At  that  time  there  were  few  young  men  in  the 
Church.  It  was  soon  proposed  that  I  be  ordained  an  elder.  I 
felt,  however,  that  I  was  not  possessed  of  the  power  and  informa- 
tion to  receive  so  high  a  calling,  and  I  asked  that  the  ordination 


ANTHON    L.   SKANCHY  125 

be  postponed  for  sonic  time,  hi  a  later  meeting  it  was  suggested 
again  that  I  should  be  ordained  to  the  priesthood,  and  I  was  then 
ordained  an  elder  in  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day 
Saints.  Immediately  afterwards  I  was  called  to  assist  the  mis- 
sionaries. 

Trondhjem,  at  that  time,  was  notoriously  the  headquarters 
of  "Mormon"  persecution.  The  authorities  had  gone  to  the 
extreme.  They  had  arrested  and  severly  punished  some  of  our 
sisters  because  they  had  left  the  legal  church  of  the  land  and  had 
accepted  "Mormonism,"  and  had  been  baptized  into  this  new 
Church.  Among  the  sisters  so  punished  were  Marit  Greslie  and 
Mrs.  Olsen,  two  sisters  who  later  came  to  Logan  and  were 
married  to  respectable  men ;  also  Lena  Christensen  who  later 
came  to  Salt  Lake  City.  These  sisters  were  imprisoned  and 
sentenced  to  five  days'  imprisonment  with  a  diet  of  only  bread 
and  water.  I  was  also  called  to  the  court  house  at  the  trial  and 
had  to  answer  many  questions  put  to  me  by  the  chief  of  police. 
Several  of  the  questions  were  of  such  a  nature  that  I  did  not  feel 
under  any  obligation  to  answer  them,  which  did  not  bring  the 
chief  into  the  best  of  humor.  As  a  result,  the  police  chief 
promised  me  that  he  should  not  forget  me.  He  was  very  bitter  in 
his  feelings  towards  the  Saints. 

"Mormonism,"  from  that  time  on.  became  my  guiding  star. 
With  great  interest  I  accepted  the  call  to  help  in  bearing  testi- 
mony of  the  truthfulness  of  the  gospel,  and  in  visiting  the  Saints  in 
the  city  and  its  surroundings.  All  this  time  I  continued  my  work 
in  the  rope  factory,  owned  by  Mr.  Berg,  under  whom  I  served 
my  apprenticeship.  He  was  a  religious  man,  a  dissenter  who 
had  some  time  before  left  the  Lutheran  church  and  now  belonged 
to  a  local  sect.  While  my  master  and  I  walked  up  and  down 
the  rope  walk  together  spinning  hemp,  "Mormonism"  became  the 
theme  of  the  day,  during  weeks  and  months.  By  this  time  I  had 
acquired  many  of  the  principles  of  the  gospel  as  taught  in  the 
tracts  of  Orson  Pratt  and  Parley  P.  Pratt,  and  I  was  enabled 
thereby  to  continue  day  after  day  our  interesting  discussion. 

After  I  had  joined  the  Church,  since  it  was  very  difficult 
to  rent  a  house  where  meetings  could  be  held,  the  missionaries 
secured  the  largest  room  in  my  mother's  house.  The  missionaries 
lived  there,  and  conducted  their  meetings  there  for  several  years. 
Many  times  the  house  was  bombarded  by  mobs,  and  my  mother 
had  to  go  out  and  talk  to  the  people  in  order  to  disperse  them. 
After  a  year  or  so,  the  persecution  quieted  somewhat  and  life 
became  more  peaceful.  The  missionaries  had,  as  it  were,  a  home 
with  my  mother,  and  many  enjoyable  meetings  were  held  in  my 
mother's  house. 

After  a  time  my  mother  also  made  herself  acquainted  with 
the  gospel,  and  developed  a  faith  in  it,  but  was  not  baptized.    On 


126  IMPROVEMENT   ERA 

many  occasions,  during"  the  persecutions  she  went  out  in  her 
garden  and  preached  "Mormonism"  to  the  restless  crowd  of 
people  standing  in  the  street  and  around  the  house.  She  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  Bible,  and  once,  when  an  editor  was  present 
in  the  crowd,  lie  wrote  down  the  principles  that  she  declared  to 
the  crowd,  and  printed  them  in  his  paper  as  the  remarkable  speech 
of  an  old  woman.  She  had  a  good  singing-  voice  and  went  often 
to  the  houses  of  our  neighbors  where  she  sang  songs  from  our 
hymn  book.  The  missionaries  remained  in  my  mother's  house, 
and  loved  her,  during  many  years,  even  after  I  returned  from  my 
first  mission  to  Nordland  and  Finmarken  in  the  northern  part  of 
Norway. 

Several  were  baptized  at  Trondhjem.  Several  changes  oc- 
curred among  the  missionaries,  and  at  one  time  we  were  in 
charge  of  a  local  elder,  who  gave  us  good  counsel  and  guidance. 
Later  we  received  as  our  missionary,  Hans  A.  Hansen  from 
Christiansand,  who  was  sent  to  Trondhjem  to  care  for  the  new 
branch  there.  This  man  later  became  my  counselor  in  the 
bishopric  of  the  sixth  ward  of  Logan. 

I  secured  frequently  at  this  time  leave  of  absence  from  the 
factory  for  a  week  or  two  at  a  time,  in  order  to  accompany  the 
missionaries  on  their  visits  to  the  surrounding  districts,  such  as 
Stordalen,  Indhered,  Seldo,  Borseskogen.  In  this  manner  I 
learned  to  know  something  of  the  different  conditions  that  a 
"Mormon"  elder  has  to  meet.  Often,  though  we  had  money,  we 
could  not  secure  the  privilege  of  buying  food,  or  a  place  in  which 
to  sleep,  simply  because  we  were  "Mormons."  Nevertheless,  we 
were  of  good  faith,  though  we  were  many  times  utterly  exhausted 
by  the  long  distances  that  we  had  to  cover  on  foot,  without  proper 
food.  These  experiences  were  of  a  kind  to  give  us  greater  prepar- 
ation for  our  important  work  as  messengers  carrying  the  glad 
tidings  of  the  gospel  to  the  people.  We  felt  much  interested  in 
our  labors,  especially  since  we  had  the  joy  of  seeing  some  of  the 
fruits  of  them.  Thus  passed  the  first  two  years  of  my  member- 
ship in  the  Church. 

(to  be  continued.) 


The  Evolution  Hypothesis  and  the 
Geological  Record 


Its    ROBERT  C.   WEBU 


[The  fifth  of  a  scries  of  articles  written  for  the  Era  by  the 
author,  on  allied  subjects.  Each  article  is  complete  in  itself,  but 
students  should  read   the  whole   series. — Editors.] 

The  arguments  for  organic  evolution  drawn  from  the  succes 
sioii  in  time  of  the  appearance  of  organic  types,  and  from  em- 
bryology, as  setting  forth,  as  is  claimed,  a  "recapitulation"  of  the 
ancestral  history  of  the  individual,  are,  apparently,  the  best  rea- 
soned of  the  entire  five  heads  of  "evidence."  The  fact,  so  often 
indicated,  that  the  geological  record  shows  a  certain  succession  in 
life-forms,  from  those  comparatively  "low"  in  the  scale,  to  those 
"highest"  and  most  elaborated,  may  be  held  to  indicate  that  the 
"higher"  forms  appeared  actually  later  in  time  than  the  "lower," 
although,  whether  by  so  many  successive  "special  creations,"  as 
was  argued  by  Agassiz  and  his  "school,"  by  a  process  of  derivative 
descent,  or  in  some  other  manner,  is  really  as  much  of  an  open 
question  now,  as  in  the  earliest  days  of  geological  science.  This 
may  seem  like  a  foolish  and  indefensible  statement,  but  when  we 
consider  the  fact,  already  indicated,  that  the  bulk  of  the  so-called 
"evidences  of  variation"  suggest  rather  real  degradations  of  spe- 
cial organs,  as  in  the  cases  of  horses  and  whales,  for  example,  the 
evolutionary  significance  of  the  apparent  succession  of  life-forms, 
from  "lower"  to  "higher,"  as  argued  from  the  rock  records,  is  not 
so  clear.  In  fact,  a  careful  examination  of  the  conditions  involved 
quickly  demonstrates  the  conclusion  that  the  facts  are  incapable 
of  supporting  the  Spencerian  hypothesis  of  organic  evolution,  ex- 
cept in  a  very  general  sense,  by  inference,  and  by  a  certain  not 
overwhelming  percentage  of  the  facts. 

In  the  first  place,  the  geological  record  does  not  establish  the 
conclusion  that  there  was  a  gradual  ascent  from  the  simplest  life- 
forms  to  the  more  complex.  Although  the  fossils  found  in  the 
lowest  and  earliest  formations  indicate  that  the  prevailing  types 
in  regions  where  sedimentary  rocks  were  being  deposited  were, 
first  mollusca,  second  low  arthropods,  third  ganoid  fishes,  none  of 
them  distinctly  in  the  very  lowest  ranges  of  organism,  there  is  no 
direct  conclusive  evidence  that  the  prevailing  life-forms  of  still 
earlier  periods  represented  still  "lower"  types,  from  which  those 
in  the  Silurian  rocks  were,  presumably,  derived  by  natural  descent. 
Consequently  any  conclusions  in  the  premises,  apart  from  obvious 


128  IMPROVEMENT   ERA 

deductions  from  established  facts,  are  mere  inferences  and  sup- 
positions, and  not  even  "circumstantial  evidences."  There  is 
found,  to  be  sure,  in  a  serpentine  marble  of  the  Laurentian 
(Eozoic)  formations  of  Canada,  what  several  authorities  have 
concluded  to  represent  the  remains  of  a  species  of  rhizopod 
i  I'rotozoon),  and  have  called  Eocoon  ("dawn  animal"),  as  indi- 
cating, perhaps,  "the  earliest  known  form  of  animal  life."  But 
whether  or  not  Eocooii  is  really  a  fossil  remnant,  as  some  have 
strongly  doubted,  the  presence  of  very  extensive  deposits  of  mar- 
ble, graphite  and  iron  ore  in  the  same  formations  strongly  suggest 
the  contemporaneous  existence  of  other,  and,  perhaps,  more  ad- 
vanced forms  of  organism — the  marble  and  graphite  indicating  the 
existence  of  mollusca  or  coral-builders  (Anthozoa)  and  vegeta- 
tion, respectively — the  graphite  (carbon)  being  in  such  quantities 
as  to  suggest  a  vegetation  as  plentiful  and  long  continued  as  that 
of  the  Carboniferous  Age ;  while  the  iron  ore,  according  to  the 
conclusions  of  many  geologists  and  chemists  indicates  merely 
ancient  "bog-iron"  deposits,  resulting  from  the  deoxidizing  action 
of  vegetable  organisms.  In  these  cases,  of  course,  subsequent 
metamorphosis  of  the  rocks  must  have  eliminated  all  traces  of 
fos'sil  remains.  Consequently,  we  have  no  data  on  their  character 
or  relative  position  in  the  scale  of  life. 

In  the  second  place,  the  geological  record  is  necessarily  and 
inevitably  incomplete  in  life  forms,  a  fact  which  has  been  suf- 
ficiently heralded  by  evolutionists,  who  argue  that,  were  the  record 
"complete,"  all  "missing  links,"  all  "breaks  in  the  chain"  of  life 
development,  must  infallibly  have  been  recorded.  The  incom- 
pleteness of  the  record  indicates,  however,  other,  and  perhaps  as 
important  considerations  to  the  scientific  investigator.  Thus,  the 
popular  assumption  that  geology  has  demonstrated  the  earliest 
life-forms  to  have  been  marine,  with  the  inference  that  land  forms 
must  have  been  derived  from  them  by  variation,  is  a  clear  pre- 
sumption on  the  facts.  Without  referring  to  the  immense  im- 
probability that  a  true  water-dweller  could  ever  have  been  modified 
into  a  true  land-dweller,  we  must  insist  that  the  rock  records  tell 
us  nothing  whatever  regarding  the  existence  or  non-existence  of 
land  forms  contemporaneous  with  the  earliest  recognized  marine 
deposits.  And  this  must  be  held  true  for  two  very  excellent 
reasons :  first  that  sedimentary  rocks,  which  are  the  only  ones 
containing  the  fossil  remains  of  organic  forms,  are  deposited  only 
on  sea  bottoms,  lake  bottoms,  at  the  mouths  of  rivers,  as  bogs, 
or  along  ocean  shores,  where  the  breakers  pound  the  primeval 
rocks  into  sand,  which  is  later  deposited  in  beds,  eventually  be- 
coming rock ;  second,  that  no  remains  of  land  animals  can  occur 
as  fossils  in  a  rock  deposit,  unless  representing  individuals  that 
have  been  drowned  or  devoured  by  water-dwelling  carnivores, 
who  have  dropped  the  bones  on  the  bottom.     Consequently,  there 


THE  EVOLUTION  HYPOTHESIS  129 

is  no  inevitable  necessity  which  would  compel  the  presence  of  land 
remains  in  the  rocks  of  any  period,  except  under  the  general  con- 
ditions specified. 

Now,  regarding  the  conditions  in  which  we  should  logically 
expect  to  find  the  remains  of  land  animals  plentiful  in  the  rocks, 
we  may  say  that  they  should  be  fulfilled  when  there  exist  high- 
standing  land  areas,  filled  with  lofty  mountains  and  elevated  hills 
and  plateaus,  such  as  would  form  the  abundant  water-sheds  of 
large  and  strong-flowing  rivers.  The  rivers  afford  constant  op- 
portunity for  carrying  the  bodies  of  land  animals  and  plants,  and 
depositing  them  at  their  mouths,  or  in  the  seas  or  lakes  into  which 
they  empty,  thus  insuring  some  record  in  the  forming  rocks.  But 
what  does  geology  say  of  this?  It  certainly  records  that  the 
earliest  lands,  those  at  least  existing  above  sea  level  during  the 
Paleozoic  Time,  were,  on  the  whole,  low-lying,  with  few  lofty 
elevations,  consequently  few  large  and  powerful  streams  to  carry 
terrestrial  remains,  if  any,  and  leave  them  in  the  sedimentary 
deposits.  Indeed,  so  characteristic  is  such  a  land  configuration  of 
this  ancient  time  that  geologists  have  accepted  as  an  established 
principle  that  the  lower  ranges  of  mountains  are  regularly  the 
oldest  in  upheaval,  while  the  loftier  elevations  are  of  comparatively 
recent  occurrence.  This  fact  alone  should  account  for  the  absence 
of  land  forms  in  the  Paleozoic  rocks,  before  the  Carboniferous 
Age,  except  for  the  few  reported  remains  of  scorpions,  etc.,  in  the 
upper  Silurian.  The  remains  of  land  snails,  insects,  centipedes, 
etc.,  occur  often  in  the  Carboniferous  formations,  when  the  de- 
posits were  formed  largely  from  land  plants  growing  in  bogs — 
mostly  cryptogams  of  the  fern,  and  allied  typss — which  were 
utterly  different  in  character  from  the  marine  vegetable  life  of  the 
lower  deposits.  The  scattered  and  occasional  remains  of  true  land 
dinosaurs  (reptiles)  have  been  reported  in  the  Permian  rocks  of 
the  upper  Carboniferous.  Nor  are  there  any  suggestions  of  "in- 
termediate forms,"  either  plant  or  animal,  previous  to  this  stage. 

The  higher  land  animals  appear,  geologically,  for  the  first 
time  in  the  Triassic  and  Jurassic  formations  of  the  lower  Mesozoic, 
when  quite  a  different  configuration  of  the  dry  land  had  already 
been  established.  With  the  close  of  the  Paleozoic  Time  occurred 
an  immense  upheaval,  in  course  of  which  the  Appalachian  range 
of  eastern  North  America,  as  well  as  most  of  the  Rocky  Mountain 
system,  on  the  west,  came  into  existence.  With  the  establishment 
of  these  vast  water-sheds,  remains  of  land  animals  become  in- 
creasingly more  common  in  the  fossil-bearing  rocks.  The  inevi- 
table conclusion  is,  that,  whether  or  not  land  life  existed  in  the 
Paleozoic  Time,  it  is  perfectly  evident  that  we  have  a  good  ex- 
planation for  the  fact  that  there  are  no  traces  of  land  forms  in  the 
lower  measures,  also  for  their  presence  in  the  later  deposits. 
Even  Professor  Huxley  strongly  inclines  to  similar  lines  of  expla- 


130  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

nation  when  he  states  deliberately  (Paleontology  and  the  Doctrine 
of  Evolution) ,  that  all  genera  of  life  forms  must  be  assumed  to  be 
far  older  than  would  be  supposed  from  the  date  of  their  first 
known  appearance  as  fossils  in  the  rocks. 

In  another  point,  also,  the  "evidential  value"  of  the  rock 
records  has  been  largely  overestimated,  and  this  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  earlier  deposits  were  made,  evidently,  in  comparatively 
shallow  waters,  leaving  us  no  information  as  to  the  forms  of  life 
existing  in  greater  depths  of  ocean,  if  there  were  such.  The 
prevailing,  or  characteristic,  life-forms  of  the  shallower  seas, 
therefore,  furnish  the  principal  records  recognized  as  of  this  time. 
However,  there  must  have  been  a  steady  and  long-continued 
subsidence  of  the  sea  bottom  in  some  areas,  to  compensate,  per- 
haps, the  rise  of  dry  land  in  others,  throughout  the  entire  Pale- 
ozoic Time,  as  we  may  assume  to  explain  the  extreme  thickness — 
depth — of  the  deposits  containing  the  remains  of  its  life-forms. 
Indeed,  if  we  assume  that  the  same  thickness  of  rock  in  any  two 
geological  "regions"  indicates,  even  approximately,  a  correspond- 
ing rate  of  deposit,  it  may  be  said  that,  judging  on  this  standard, 
the  Paleozoic  formations  represent  over  two-thirds  of  all  geologic 
time :  nor  does  this  estimate  make  account  of  the  vast  deposits  of 
metamorphic  rock,  which,  by  the  theories  of  many  geologists,  rep- 
resent still  older  sedimentary  deposits,  whose  original  character 
has  been  obliterated  by  the  action  of  heat  and  other  natural  forces. 
But  the  characteristic  marine  life-forms  of  the  Silurian,  or  lower 
Paleozoic, — fixed  molluscs  and  arthropods,  in  the  main,  with 
fncoids  and  a  few  corals — certainly  indicate  that  the  portions 
of  the  sea  inhabited  by  them  were  very  shallow ;  since  in  none  of 
these  forms  do  we  recognize  deep-sea  dwellers.  Thus,  with  the 
slow,  but  steady  subsidence  of  the  sea  bottom,  as  shown  in  known 
deposits,  there  were  probably  formed  vaster  depths  in  other,  and 
perhaps  unknown,  areas  of  ocean,  before  the  close  of  the  Silurian 
formations.  Whether  the  deposits  formed  in  such  regions  are 
represented  by  some  formations  containing  deep-sea  life-forms, 
which  have  usually  been  supposed  to  be  of  later  origin,  because 
superposed  on  the  former  rocks,  we  cannot  undertake  to  deter- 
mine. The  fact  remains,  however,  that  we  have  positively  no 
assurance  of  more  than  the  few  beginnings  of  knowledge  of  the 
total  conditions  of  early  geologic  life,  or  of  the  seas,  islands  or 
continents,  in  which  it  was  manifested ;  or  of  the  forms  in  which 
it  must  have  appeared.  It  remains  true,  however,  that  such  known 
forms  as  have  persisted  to  the  present  time  have  come  down 
practically  unchanged;  also  that  such  extinct  life-forms  as  trilo- 
bites.  which,  as  frequently  indicated,  resemble  embryonic  stages 
of  modern  crustaceans,  have  never  seemed  to  advance  toward 
a  "cosmic  maturity" — they  disappear  suddenly  at  the  close  of 
the  Paleozoic  Time. 


THE  EVOLUTION  HYPOTHESIS  131 

Any  further  consideration  of  the  geological  record  establishes 
the  conclusion  that  the  arguments  in  favor  of  Spencerian  evolu- 
tion are  progressively  weakened.  In  the  first  place,  and  nearly 
fatal  to  the  theory  it  must  seem,  we  find  no  evidences  worth 
recording  of  series  of  small  changes  through  immense  periods: 
the  newer  forms  of  organism,  as  a  rule  nearly  invariable,  appear 
suddenly,  and  without  preliminary  warnings  or  preparations.  In 
the  second  place,  such  upward-moving  variations  as  have  been 
supposedly  established  are  of  the  most  immaterial  description,  as 
is  admitted  by  candid  writers,  Huxley  among  them,  who  may 
claim  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  facts.  Such  conditions  seem 
strange,  if  not  positively  destructive  to  the  hypothesis  that  the 
geological  record  is  really  a  record  of  progress  from  the  relatively 
lower  and  simpler  forms,  to  the  highest  and  most  complex.  In 
his  notable  address  before  The  Geological  Society  in  1871,  Pro- 
fessor Huxley  makes  the  following  statements : 

"I  stated  (speaking  on  a  previous  occasion)  that  geographical 
provinces,  or  zones,  may  have  been  as  distinctly  marked  in  the 
Paleozoic  Epoch  as  at  present;  and  those  seemingly  sudden  ap- 
pearances of  new  genera  and  species,  which  we  ascribe  to  new  crea- 
tions, may  be  simple   results  of  migration.     *     *     * 

"One  of  the  latest  pieces  of  foreign  intelligence  which  has  reached 
us  is  the  information  that  the  Austrian  geologists  have,  at  last,  suc- 
cumbed to  the  weighty  evidence  which  M.  Barrande  has  accumulated, 
and  have  admitted  the  doctrine  of  colonies.  But  the  admission  of  the 
doctrine  of  colonies  implies  the  further  admission  that  even  identity 
of  organic  remains  is  no  proof  of  the  synchronism  of  the  deposits 
which  contain  them.     *     *     * 

"  *  *  *  At  the  epoch  of  the  Trias,  therefore,  the  Marstfpialia 
must  have  already  existed  long  enough  to  have  become  differentiated 
into  carnivorous  and  herbivorous  forms.  But  the  Mnnotremata  are 
lower  forms  than  the  Didclphia,  which  last  are  intercalary  between  the 
Ornithodelphia  and  the  Monodclphia.  To  what  point  of  the  Paleozoic 
Epoch,  then,  must  we,  upon  any  rational  estimate,  relegate  the  origin 
of  the  Monotremata? 

"The  investigation  of  the  occurrence  of  the  classes  and  of  the 
orders  of  the  Sauropsida  in  time  points  in  exactly  the  same  direction. 
If  as  there  is  good  reason  to  believe.  tr"e  Birds  existed  in  the  Tnassic 
Epoch  the  ornithoscelidous  forms  by  which  Reptiles  passed  into  Birds 
must  have  preceded  them.  Tn  fact  there  is,  even  at  present,  con- 
siderable ground  for  suspecting  the  existence  of  Dmosauna  in  the 
Permian  formations;  but,  in  that  case,  lizards  must  be  of  still  earlier 
date  And  if  the  very  small  differences  which  are  observable  between 
the  CrocodiVa  of  the  older  Mesozoic  formations  and  those  of  the 
present  day  furnish  any  sort  of  approximation  toward  an  estimate 
of  the  average  rate  of  change  among  the  Sauropsida,  it  is  almost 
appalling  to  reflect  how  far  back  in  Paleozoic  times  we  must  go,  be- 
fore we  can  hope  to  arrive  at  that  common  stock  from  winch  the 
Crocodilia,  Lacertilia,  Ornithoscelida,  and  Pleswsauna,  which  had  at- 
tained so  great  a  development  in  the  Tnassic  Epoch,  must  have  been 

^""The   Amphibia   and    Pisces  tell   the   same    story.   There   is   not  a 
.ingle    class    nf  vertebrated    animal,    which,   when    it    first   appears,    is 


132  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

represented  by  analogues  of  the  lowest  known  members  of  the  same 
class.  Therefore,  if  there  is  any  truth  in  the  doctrine  of  evolution, 
every  class  must  be  vastly  older  than  the  first  record  of  its  appearance 
upon  the  surface  of  the  globe.  But  if  considerations  of  this  kind 
compel  us  to  place  the  origin  of  vertebrated  animals  at  a  period 
sufficiently  distant  from  the  Upper  Silurian,  in  which  the  first 
Elasmobranchs  and  Ganoids  occur,  to  allow  of  the  evolution  of  such 
li-lics  as  these  from  a  Vertebrate  as  simple  as  the  Amphioxus,  I  can 
only  repeat  that  it  is  appalling  to  speculate  upon  the  extent  to  which 
that  origin  must  have  preceded  the  epoch  of  the  first  recorded  ap- 
pearance of  vertebrate  life." — Paleontology  and  the  Doctrine  of  Evo- 
lution. 

There  was  evidently  an  element  of  "firm  faith"  in  the  consti- 
tution of  Professor  Huxlev.  which  enabled  him  to  believe  in  his 
pet  hypothesis,  precisely  after  the  manner  of  a  religious  fanatic, 
even  after  he  has  catalogued  enough  difficulties  in  its  way  to  con- 
vince any  logical  mind  that  his  conclusions  are  far  from  obvious. 
Thus,  the  migrations  which,  as  he  formerly  held  "may"  have 
taken  place,  he  supposes  at  this  writing  to  have  been  established 
by  "the  weighty  evidence  which  M.  Barrande  has  accumulated"  to 
argue  to  "the  doctrine  of  colonies."  But,  as  must  be  evident,  any 
such  doctrine  merely  seeks  to  evade  the  fact  that  there  is  no  evi- 
dence of  preparatory  variations  before  the  sudden  appearance  of 
a  new  type,  by  the  unmitigated  assumption  that  such  must  have 
taken  place  elsewhere,  and  that  in  the  case  of  every  known  record, 
evidently.  We  may  fully  admit  the  truth  of  the  colonies  doctrine 
in  any  number  of  cases — since  M.  Barrande  has  accumulated  so 
much  "weighty  evidence" — but  when  it  is  invoked,  repeatedly 
and  constantly  to  explain  the  presence  of  life-forms,  assumed  to 
have  been  evolutionally  developed  elsewhere, — and  the  scenes  of 
this  supposed  variation  process  never  seem  to  be  fully  identified — 
it  is  certainly  sadlv  overworked :  and  all  for  the  mere  purpose  of 
avoiding  the  suoposed  alternative  of  immediate  "special  creation," 
which  is  so  often  ridiculed  by  "scientists."  When  invoked,  as 
above,  to  "explain"  the  absence  of  "intermediate  forms"  in  the 
case  of  land  animals,  we  cannot  contradict  it.  of  course,  but,  when 
used  to  exnlain  the  same  fact  in  r°gard  to  fishes,  etc., — the  evolu- 
tion nf  Elasmobranchs  and  Ganoids  "from  a  vertebrate  as  simple 
as  the  Amphioxus,"  for  example — the  absurdity  of  the  process 
of  reasoning  need  not  be  pointed  out,  when  we  consider  the  condi- 
tions under  which  organic  remains  are  preserved  in  sedimentary 
rocks  as  previously  explained. 

Proceeding,  however,  to  discuss  the  statements  made  in  a 
former  address,  Huxley  states  that : 

"If  we  confine  ourselves  to  positively  ascertained  facts,  the  total 
amount  of  change  in  the  forms  of  animal  and  vegetable  life,  since  the 
existence  of  such'  forms  is  recorded,  is  small  When  compared  with  the 
lapse  of  time  since  the  first  appearance  of  these  forms,  the  amount 
of  change   is  wonderfully  small.     Moreover,   in   each   great   group   of 


THE  EVOLUTION  HYPOTHESIS  133 

the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  there  arc  certain  forms  which 
i  termed  persistent  types,  which  have  remained,  with  but  very  little 
apparent  change,   from   their   first   appearance   to   the   present   time. 

In  answer  to  the  question,  'What,  then,  does  an  impartial  survey 
of  the  positively  ascertained  truths  of  paleontology  testify  in  rela- 
tion to  the  common  doctrines  of  progressive  modification,  which  sup- 
pose that  modification  to  have  taken  place  by  a  necessary  progress 
from  more  to  less  embryonic  forms,  from  more  to  less  generalized 
types,  within  the  limits  of  the  period  represented  by  the  fossiliferous 
rocks?'  I  reply,  'It  negatives  these  doctrines;  for  it  cither  shows  us 
no  evidence  of  such  modifications,  or  demonstrates  such  modification 
as  has  occurred  to  have  been  very  slight;  and  as  to  the  nature  of  that 
modification,  it  yields  no  evidence  whatsoever  that  the  earlier  members, 
of  any  long-continued  group  were  more  generalized  in  structure  than 
the   later   ones.'" 

He  then  proceeds  to  qualify  his  former  statements  on  these 
points  by  a  line  of  arguments,  whose  sufficiency  may  be  judged 
by  any  candid  reader,  as  follows : 

"So  far,  indeed,  as  the  Invcrtebrata  and  the  lower  Vertebrate  are 
concerned,  the  facts  and  the  conclusions  which  are  to  be  drawn  from 
them  appear  to  me  to  remain  what  they  were.  For  anything  that,  as 
yet.  appears  to  the  contrary,  the  earliest  known  Marsupials  may  have 
been  as  highly  organized  as  their  living  congeners;  the  Permian  lizards 
show  no  signs  of  inferiority  to  those  of  the  present  day;  the  Laby- 
rinthodonts  cannot  be  placed  below  the  living  Salamander  and  Triton; 
the  Devonian  Ganoids  are  closely  related  to  Polyptcrus  and  Lcpidosircn. 

"But  when  we  turn  to  the  higher  Vertebrata,  the  results  of  recent 
investigations,  however  we  may  sift  and  criticize  them,  seem  to  me  to 
leave  a  clear  balance  in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of  the  evolution  of  living 
forms  one  from  another.  Nevertheless,  in  discussing  this  question, 
it  is  very  necessary  to  discriminate  carefully  between  the  different 
kinds  of  evidence  from  fossil  remains  which  are  brought  forward  in 
favor  of  evolution. 

"Every  fossil  which  takes  an  intermediate  place  between  forms 
of  life  already  known,  may  be  said,  so  far  as  it  is  intermediate,  to  be 
evidence  in  favor  of  evolution,  inasmuch  as  it  shows  a  possible  road 
by  which  evolution  may  have  taken  place.  But  the  mere  discovery 
of  such  a  form  does  not,  in  itself,  prove  that  evolution  took  place 
bv  and  through  it,  nor  does  it  constitute  more  than  presumptive 
evidence  in  favor  of  evolution  in  general.  Suppose  A,  B,  C,  to  be  three 
forms,  while  B  is  intermediate  in  structure  between  A  and  C.  Then 
the  doctrine  of  evolution  offers  four  possible  alternatives.  A  may  have 
become  C  by  way  of  B;  or  C  may  have  become  A  by  way  of  B;  or  A 
and  C  may  be  independent  modifications  of  B;  or  A.  B,  and  C  may  be 
independent  modifications  of  some  unknown  D.  Take  the  case  of 
Pigs,  the  Anohlotheridae  and  the  Ruminants.  The  Anoplotheridae  are 
intermediate  between  the  first  and  last;  but  this  does  not  tell  us 
whether  the  Ruminants  have  come  from  the  Pigs,  or  the  Pigs  from 
Ruminants,  or  both  from  Anoplotheridae,  or  whether  Pigs,  Ruminants, 
and  Anoplotheridae  alike  may  not  have  diverged,  from  some  common 
stock. 

"But  if  it  can  be  shown  that  A,  B,  and  C  exhibit  successive 
stages  in  the  deerree  of  modification,  or  specialization  of  the  same 
type;  and  if.  further,  it  can  be  proved  that  thev  occur  in  successively 
newer  deposits.  A  being  in  the  oldest  and  C  in  the  newest,  then  the 
intermediate  character  of  B  has  quite  another  importance,  and  T 
should  accept  it.  without  hesitation,  as  a  link  in  the  genealogy  of  C. 


134  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

I  should  consider  the  burden  of  proof  to  be  thrown  upon  any  one 
who  denied  C  to  have  been  derived  from  A  by  way  of  B,  or  in  some 
closely  analogous  fashion;  for  it  is  always  probable  that  one  may  not 
hit  upon  the  exact  line  of  filiation,  and,  in  dealing  with  fossils,  may 
mistake  uncles  and  nephews  for  fathers  and  sons." — Ibid. 

Of  course,  the  lecture  in  which  these  passages  occur  was 
delivered  over  forty  years  ago,  and  the  science  of  paleontology  has 
made  great  progress  in  the  mean  time.  It  is  an  important  docu- 
ment, however,  as  showing  the  confidence  with  which  the  evolution 
hypothesis  was  urged,  even  with  "defective  evidence" — quite  as 
confidently  as  at  the  present.  It  is  also  valuable  as  a  study,  since 
Huxley  was  undoubtedly  an  honest  man,  and,  apart  from  the  in- 
evitable mental  bias,  due  to  his  "convictions,"  also  a  good  logi- 
cian. In  spite  of  all  the  advances  made  since  his  day,  the  general 
conditions  remain  about  the  same  as  stated  above.  The  greater 
percentage  of  sunno^ed  "links"  and  "evidences"  are  still  drawn 
from  the  tvpes  of  the  higher  vertebrates,  and  the  larger  proportion 
o+*  these,  in  turn,  are  nreciselv  what  Huxley  would  have  called 
"intercalary  tvoes."  Thev  admit  of  inference  and  presumption, 
to  be  sure,  but  not  of  sufficientlv  complete  "demonstration"  to  war- 
rant the  corollaries  so  nlentifully  drawn  from  the  variation,  sup- 
posedly established  by  them.  Another  matter  which  is  quite  often 
forgotten  in  this  connection  is  that,  while  pigs,  ruminants  and 
Anoplothcridac  may  represent  so  many  "stations"  in  a  line  of  con- 
stant variation  in  form  and  function,  which  may  be  held  to  be 
established  (for  the  sake  of  argument,  if  nothing  more),  the  bear- 
ing of  such  examples  of  modification,  like  that  of  the  horses  from 
their  supposed  five-toed  ancestors,  is  not  immediate  upon  the 
Spencerian  hypothesis  of  organic  evolution  from  the  simplest 
possible  form  of  living  organism  to  the  most  complex.  They 
example  merely  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  variation  in  nature — 
or,  at  least,  that  we  may  assume  that  there  is — and  leaves  us  at  a 
very  long  distance  away  from  any  idea  of  the  origin  of  life  on 
earth,  or  even  of  the  genus,  order,  family  or  class  in  which  the  ex- 
amples of  variation  are  assumed  to  have  occurred.  In  fact,  even  ad- 
mitting all  the  variations  that  zoologists  and  paleontologists  claim 
to  have  demonstrated,  the  process  by  which  they  attempt  to  place 
them  in  line  on  the  "upward  road"  of  organic  evolution  is  logic, 
and  not  natural  science.  We  find  our  evolutionists,  accordingly,  still 
arguing,  with  Huxley,  as  to  what  "might"  or  "may"  have  hap- 
pened, but  still  furnishing  very  defective  "proof"  of  the.  main 
contention  of  organic  evolution  of  the  Spencerian  type.  They 
also  fail  to  remember  that  their  "doctrine,"  in  all  its  essential 
features,  was  propounded  before  most  of  the  facts  and  alleged 
facts  were  known,  and  that  the  best  of  them  are  still  using  the 
arguments  originated,  apparently,  by  Robert  Chambers  (in  his 
Vestiges  of  the  Natural  History  of  Creation)    in  1845. 


The  Teacher 

Was  Christ  a  genius?  Putting  aside,  for  argument's 
sake,  the  claim  to  Immaculate  Conception,  that  of  Divine 
Origin,  of  the  performance  of  miracles,  and  rising  from  the 
dead,  and  looking  upon  the  Son  of  Man  merely  from  the 
•worldly  standpoint,  the  human  measurement  of  greatness, 
let  us  ask  again,  Was  Christ  a  genius  ?  Where  does  he  stand 
in  purity  and  beauty  of  purpose,  in  magnificence  and 
grandeur  of  achievement,  among  the  greatest  ones  of  earth 
those  who  have  filled  the  ages  with  their  renown? 

Among  certain  of  the  modern  psychologists,  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  has  been  denied  a  place  as  a  Superman.  He  was 
not  a  Compeller.  He  is  debased  among  the  pseudo-emotional 
geniuses.  He  did  not  take  the  sword,  he  led  no  cohorts,  he 
left  no  battle-fields,  he  did  not  stain  the  earth  with  blood. 
The  logic  which  gives  to  Mohammed  a  place  among  the 
greatest  geniuses  of  the  earth  denies  the  same  to  the  Gentle 
Teacher !  What !  They,  the  masters  of  war,  must  be  given 
the  first  place,  and  he,  the  Prince  of  P.eace,  only  a  second  ? 
Shall  we  so  disparage  the  Inspired  One  who  spoke  the  Para- 
bles, who  taught  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  preached  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount?  who  wept  with  emotion  over  the  sins 
of  Jerusalem,  saying,  "O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that 
killest  the  prophets  and  stonest  them  which  art  sent  unto 
thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together 
even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and 
ye  would  not"? 

Caesar  reached  to  the  height  of  his  ambition  and  met — 
Brutus;  Napoleon  willed  the  subjugation  of  Europe,  and 
found — St.  Helena ;  Christ  desired  the  redemption  of  the 
world  and — suffered  on  the  Cross.  Whose  labors  shall  affect 
most  the  destinies  of  mankind?  He  who  believed  in  the  use 
of  the  sword,  the  power  of  the  greatest  cannon,  or  the  One 
who  believed  in  the  potency  of  the  gentle  word  ? 

"They  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with  the  sword." 
Hasten  the  day  when  there  shall  be  no  more  the  clash  of 
arms,  the  flow  of  blood,  the  glare  of  flames  !  Rameses,  Nim- 
rod,  Xerxes,  Belshazzar,  Alexander,  Hannibal,  Csesar,  Attila, 
Tamerlane,  Genghis  Khan,  Charlemagne,  Charles  V,  these 
and  their  deeds  shall  pass  away,  and  so  the  moderns.  And 
yet  shall  come  the  Light  of  which  Christ  was  the  dawn! 

Alfred  Lam  bourne 


Hebrew  Idioms  and  Analogies  in  the 
Book  of  Mormon 


BY    THOMAS    W:  BROOKBANK,    ASSOCIATE    EDITOR   OF   THE       MILLEN- 
NIAL star" 


24.  Concerning  Certain  Prepositions. 

"From  before."  This  is  the  translation  of  a  compound  He- 
brew preposition,  but  the  meaning  may  be,  or,  rather  is,  expressed, 
in  English  by  "from"  alone.  In  Ezra  7:14,  a  reading  is,  "art  sent 
of  the  king,"  but  which  literally  is,  "art  sent  from  before  the  king." 
In  Eccle.  10:5,  "from,"  standing  by  itself,  is  all  that  our  language 
requires  to  express  the  sense  of  the  Hebrew  "from  before."  In 
Dan.  2:18,  we  find,  "That  he  would  desire  mercies  of  the  God  of 
heaven,"  but  strictly  "from  before  the  God  of  heaven." 

Conforming  to  the  foregoing  Hebrew  form,  the  Book  of 
Mormon  employs  the  compound  "from  before,"  in  a  number  of 
passages,  as,  "And  they  fled  from  before  my  presence."  I  Nephi 
4:28.  "They  did  not  flee  from  before  the  Lamanites."  Mormon 
2:24;  "hide  our  sins  *  *  from  before  thy  face."  Moroni  9:15. 
And  also,  I  Nephi  4:30;  Alma  44:12;  2:32;  Mormon  4:20;  2:25; 
II  Nephi  9:8;  Mos.  17:4;  III  Nephi  4:12;  Ether  13:22,  and  else- 
where. 

25.  By  the  hand  of. 

The  equivalent  of  this  prepositional  phrase  in  Hebrew  is 
compounded  of  a  preposition  and  a  noun.  When  rendered  in  Eng- 
lish it  generally  appears  as  simply  "by."  But  expressed  in  full,  as 
above  it  sometimes  makes  the  sense  almost  ludicrous  from  our 
point  of  view,  as,  "At  the  same  time  spake  the  Lord  by  the  hand 
of  Isaiah."  Isa.  20:20.  "And  hast  consumed  us  because  of  [by 
the  hand  of]  our  iniquities,"  Isa.  64:7.  "Came  the  word  of  the 
Lord  by  [by  the  hand  of]  the  prophet  Haggai,"  Hag.  2:1.  "Did 
all  things  which  the  Lord  commanded  by  [by  the  hand  of] 
Moses,"  Lev.  8 :36. 

BOOK  OF  MORMON  EXAMPLES 

"And  was  suffered  by  the  hand  of  [by]  the  Lord,  that  I  should  be 
a  ruler."  Mos.  2:11.  "That  they  might  know  concerning  the  proph- 
ecies which  had  been  spoken  by  the  mouths  of  their  fathers,  which 
were  delivered  them  by  the  hand  of  [by]  the  Lord."  Mos.  1:2.  "I 
have  acquired  much  riches  by  the  hand  of  [by]  my  industry."  Alma 
10:4.  "And  never  could  a  people  be  more  blessed  than  were  they,  and 
more  prospered  by  the  hand  of  [by]  the  Lord."    Ether  10:28. 


HEBREW  ANALOGIES  IN  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON       137 

26.  Other  Hebraisms  occasionally  used. 
"Stole  the  heart  of,"  Gen.  31:20. 

BOOK  OF  MORMON   EXAMPLES 

"Stealing  away  the  hearts  of  the  people."  Mos.  27:9.  "She  did 
steal  away  the  hearts  of  many."     Alma  39:4. 

27.  "Spake  hard  things,"  or  spake  roughly.    Gen.  42:7,30. 
"A  hard  vision,"  i.  e.,  a  "grievous"  one.     Isa.  21:2. 

BOOK  OF  MORMON   EXAMPLES 

"Thy  brothers  murmur,  saying,  It  is  a  hard  thing  which  I  have 
required  of  them."  I  Nephi  3:5.  "Lamati  and  Lemuel  did  speak  many 
hard  words  unto  me."    I  Nephi  3:28;  and  I  Nephi  16:1,  2,  3. 

28.  "All  things." 

This  is  a  peculiar  Hebraism  for  "enough,"  or,  "sufficient."  as, 
"Because  God  hath  dealt  graciously  with  me,  and  because  I  have 
all  things,"  i.  e.,  enough  for  all  my  wants.    Gen.  33  :11. 

BOOK  OF  MORMON   EXAMPLES 

"And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  morrow,  after  we  had  prepared 
all  things,  much  fruits  and  meat  from  the  wilderness,"  etc., 
I  Nephi  18 :6.  The  meaning  of  "all  things"  in  this  text  is  plainly 
"sufficient,"  and  refers  to  the  provisions  necessary  to  sustain  the 
lives  of  Lehi  and  his  people  while  crossing  the  seas  to  the  land  of 
promise. 

Evidently,  also,  the  phrase  "all  things,"  which  occurs  quite 
a  number  of  times  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  is,  in  some  other  in- 
stances, to  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  this  Hebraism,  even 
though  we  may  not  confine  the  sense  strictly  to  that  of  enough 
or  sufficient.    See  II  Nephi  6 :3 ;  Mos.  26 :38 ;  Hela.  8 :24. 

29.  "A  Man  of  Words." 

Form  Biblical  sources  we  have,  "I  am  not  eloquent"  for  "I 
am  not  a  man  of  words,"  in  the  original.    Ex.  4:10. 

BOOK  OF  MORMON   EXAMPLES 

"And  he  was  a  man  of  many  words,  and  did  speak  much  flattery 
to  the  people."  Mos.  27:8;  "For  there  was  one  Gadianton  who  was 
exceeding  expert  in  many  words."    Hela.  2:4. 

30.  A  peculiar  form  of  address. 

"Hear,  ye  people,  all  of  them,"  Mic.  1 :2,  for  "Hear  all  ye 
people." 

FROM  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

"I  do  not  mean  that  ye,  all  of  you,"  AJma  32 :25,  and  similarly 


138  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

in  III  Nephi  17:25,  a  portion  of  the  text  reads,  "for  they,  all  of 
them." 

31.  "Words"  for  "Commandments." 

"And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Hew  thee  two  tables  of  stone 
like  unto  the  first;  and  I  will  write  upon  these  tables  the  words 
[commandments]  that  were  in  the  first  tables  which  thou  break- 
cst."    Ex.  34 :1 ;  see  also  Deut.  28 :14. 

BOOK  OF  MORMON  EXAMPLES 

"And  now  I,  Alma,  do  command  you  in  the  language  of  him, 
who  hath  commanded  me,  that  ye  observe  to  do  the  words  [com- 
mandments or  precepts]  which  I  have  spoken  unto  you."  Alma 
5  :61.  Tn  Til  Nephi  30:1,  "words"  is  used  for  "commandments" — 
those  given  in  verse  2. 

32.  "Make"  or  "Made  an  end." 

Tn  the  use  which  the  ancient  Jews  made  of  "make"  or  "made" 
in  connection  with  "end"  there  is  a  Hebraism  of  a  peculiar  char- 
acter being  wholly  foreign  to  the  genius  of  our  own  language; 
thus,  "And  Moses  made  an  end  of  speaking,"  Deut.  32  :45.  The 
idea  of  making,  or  of  constructing  an  end  to  one's  speech,  does  not 
harmonize  with  our  mode  of  thinking  nn  this  point.  We  think 
that  the  "end"  of  a  speech  necessarily  follows  when  one  ceases  to 
speak.  We  do  not  "make  an  end  to  our  writing,  but  simply  stop 
the  work,  and  it  is  thus  ended  immediately.  One  additional  exam- 
ple from  the  Bible  follows:  "And  when  Jesus  had  made  an  end 
[ceased]  commanding  his  disciples."     Matt.  11:1. 

FROM  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

"I  make  an  end  of  [cease]  speaking,"  T  Nephi  14:30.  "And 
I  know  of  no  revelation,  save  that  which  has  been  written,  neither 
prophecy,  wherefore  that  which  is  sufficient  is  written,  and  I  make 
an  end."  Omni  1:11.  A  good  English  ending  occurs  in  this  ex- 
ample with  the  writing  of  the  last  letter  in  the  phrase  "sufficient 
is  written"  but  the  "end"  that  suited  this  Hebrew  author  is  found 
where  he  "made"  it. 

33.  "Make  an  Oath." 

"For  they  had  made  a  great  oath  concerning  him  that  came 
not  up  to  the  Lord  of  Mizpeh."  Judg.  21  :5. 

English  speaking  people  say  they  "take  an  oath"  or  "swear 
with  an  oath" — "make  an  oath"  is  not  the  proper  form  for  us. 

BOOK  OF  MORMON  EXAMPLES 

"And  he  also  made  an  oath  unto  us."  I  Nephi  4  :35,  37.  "The 
king  of  the  Lamanites  made  an  oath  unto  them."    Mos.   19:25. 


HEBREW  ANALOGIES  IN  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON     139 

"And  also  Limhi     *     *     made  oath  unto  the  king  of  the  Laman- 
ites,"  verse  26,  and  see  chap.  20:14. 

34.     Concerning  Compound  Words. 

Compound  words  in  1  febrew  are  few,  except  in  proper  names. 
Greene's  Heb.  Groin.,  par.  195.  3.  A  list  of  different  hyphenated 
compounds  of  common  words,  not  numerals,  in  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  totals  about  thirty  of  which  ten  occur  in  the  writings 
quoted  from  the  Book  of  Isaiah.  Of  course  this  fact  does  not 
show  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  an  Hebraic  record,  but  if  there 
were  many  compounded  forms  in  that  work  one  could  not  easily 
account  for  them,  since  it  is  claimed  that  it  was  originally  written 
by  Jews,  and  its  translation  inspired  by  that  Spirit  which  emanates 
from  Him  who  was  himself  a  Jew.  The  consistency  observed 
in  reducing  compound  forms  of  common  words  to  a  minimum  is 
a  substantial  one.  It  is  still  more  noteworthy  that  the  proper  names 
in  the  Book  of  Mormon  are  in  many  examples  of  undoubted  com- 
pound structure  and  thus  sustain  a  harmony,  as  Hebrew  proper 
names  should,  with  the  second  part  of  the  statement  last  quoted 
from  Prof.  Greene's  work.  Gad  is  a  Nephite  name,  and  from  it 
apparently  as  a  base  there  was  constructed  Gaddiandi,  Gaddianton, 
and  Gaddiomnah. 

Jacobugath  resolves  into  Jacob-u-gath ;  Kish,  Rumen  and 
Riplah  were  also  the  more  simple  forms  of  certain  Nephite  names. 
In  compounds  of  one  form  or  another  they  appear  as  A-kish,  Kish- 
kumen,  Ripla-kish,  Kumen-onhi  Pa-cumen-i ;  "cumen"  spelled 
with  a  "c,"  in  the  last  name  being  probably  the  same  with  "kumen" 
in  others ;  for  the  Jews  frequently  spelled  proper  names  in  more 
than  one  way,  and  this  practice  gives  rise  to  difficulty  in  recogniz- 
ing certain  persons  or  places  spoken  of  in  the  Bible.  So  this  and 
other  apparent  orthographical  changes  in  the  Book  of  Mormon 
names  is  a  consistency  of  no  little  value.  The  reader  will  readily 
find  a  number  of  additional  names  in  that  work  which  are  doubt- 
less compounded  forms. 

To  conclude  remarks  relating  directly  to  these  matters,  we 
will  examine  the  first  chapter  of  1  Nephi.  which  is  the  first  chapter 
in  the  whole  Book  of  Mormon,  and  point  out  some  of  the  peculi- 
arities in  it  which  betoken  a  Jewish  origin  for  that  work. 

Verse  1,  (a)  "favored  of  ['by']  the  Lord," — a  passive  par- 
ticiple in  construct  relation  before  the  sulv'ect  of  the  action;  (b) 
"all  my  days," — a  Hebraism  for  "all  my  lifetime;"  (c)  "myster- 
ies,"— this  word  is  not  here  used  in  its  modern  sense  at  all,  but  in 
harmony  with  its  ancient  Jewish  meaning  of  the  revealed  work  of 
God.  See  Bible  Hand  Book,  par.  120:  (d)  "made  a  record," — for 
"write  an  account."  or  "history."  "Make"  thus  employed  conforms 
to  Jewish  usage,  see  above. 

Verse  4      (%)  "For" — logically  improper,  but  strirtlv  in  place 


140  IMPROVEMEN.T  ERA 

as  introductory  to  a  digression,  or  a  parenthetical  remark.  Bible 
Hand  Book,  par.  289.  Gen.  35  :18  ;  Ex.  9 :28 ;  18 :3,  4 ;  32 :25  ;  34 :9. 
(b.)  Construct  state  of  nouns,  four  involved, — commencement  of 
the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah  ;  (c)  "(all  his  days," — "all 
his  life."  (d.)  An  omission  such  as  characterizes  Jewish  writings 
so  frequently.  This  verse  closes  without  a  statement  that  Lehi 
was  one  of  the  prophets  spoken  of.  It  is  so  inferred  from  the  con- 
text. A  resort  to  the  context  in  Hebrew  writings  is  often  neces- 
sitated to  complete  the  meaning. 

Verse  7.  "Cast."  The  Hebrew  word  for  "cast"  seems  to 
have  been  a  great  favorite  with  the  Israelites  of  old.  See  any  good 
concordance  of  the  Bible.  It  (cast)  is  often  used  where  we  would 
employ  other  terms. 

Verse  11  supplies  an  example  where  an  infinitive  is  discarded. 
Read,  "and  bade  him  (to)  read,"  instead  of  "and  bade  him,  that  he 
should  read." 

Verse  13,  (a)  ''namely,"  or  a  word  of  similar  meaning 
omitted  after  "Jerusalem."  The  observance  of  anything  like 
English  formality  in  writing  seems  to  have  been  repugnant  to  or 
unattainable  by  Jewish  authors,  (b.)  Read,  "and  that  many  of 
the  inhabitants  thereof  should  perish  by  the  sword."  As  the  text 
stands  it  offers  an  example  of  the  severance  of  associated  ideas,  as, 
"and  the  inhabitants  thereof,  many  should  perish  by  the  sword." 

Verse  14.  An  infinitive  again  discarded,  read,  "not  suffer 
those  who  come  unto  thee  to  perish." 

Verse  15.  After  the  word  "filled,"  the  phrase  "with  joy"  may 
be  supplied.  Some  omissions  are  Hebraic  not  Anglican.  Verse 
16.  "Make"  for  English  "write,"  twice.  Verse  17.  "Make"  for 
"write."  Verse  18.  "Therefore," — this  word  here  has  the  sense 
of  "to  resume,"  an  interruption  in  the  direct  line  of  thought  is 
occasioned  by  what  is  said  in  verse  17. 

Verse  20.  (a.)  "And,"  the  first  word,  may  be  substituted 
with  "but;"  (b)  an  omission,  read,  "even. as  (their  wicked  fore- 
fathers  were)  with  the  prophets  of  old."  The  text  is,  "And  when 
the  Jews  heard  these  things,  they  were  angry  with  him,  even  as 
with  the  prophets  of  old."  (e)  An  infinitive  discarded, — "sought 
his  life,  that  they  might  take  it  away,"  for  "sought  to  take  his 
life." 

It  must  be  evident  from  the  Hebraisms  and  Hebraic  analogies 
reviewed  in  these  remarks,  and  others  also  heretofore  considered, 
that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  invested  with  a  decided  Jewish  color- 
ing in  its  general  literary  aspects.  Marks  easily  interpreted,  point- 
ing to  an  Israelitish  origin,  are  found  on  almost  every  page.  In- 
deed, we  think  it  may  be  said  trulv  that  there  is  not  a  single  one  in 
the  whole  volume  which  does  not  illustrate  some  Hebraisms  or 
some  literary  practices  of  the  ancient  Jews,  and  the  question  of 
how  these  things,  so  unmistakably  Judaic,  got  there  is  suggested 


HEBREW  ANALOGIES  IN  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON      141 

and  shall  receive  brief  notice.  Comprehensively,  there  arc  only  two 
answers  to  this  question,  and  they  of  antagonistic  character'  1. 
That  they  were  put  there  by  a  learned  Hebrew  scholar  who  con- 
spired with  Joseph  Smith  to  deceive  mankind  ;  or  2,  they  occur  in 
the  book  because  the  originals  were  written  by  Jews,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit,  when  giving  the  translation  to  the  prophet,  largely  observed 
the  Hebrew  idioms  and  practices. 

Respecting  the  first  of  these  proposed  answers  to  the  question 
in  hand,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  conspiracy,  assuming  there 
was  one,  was  so  planned  that  the  unlearned  Joseph  Smith  should 
be,  and  in  the  execution  of  the  plot  actually  was,  held  forth  to  the 
world  as  the  sole  and  only  human  agent  in  producing  the  book ; 
while  the  real  author  who  did  compose  it,  if  a  fraud  as  alleged, 
should  not  be,  and  was  not  known  in  connection  with  it  at  all. 
Under  these  circumstances,  to  give  the  work  the  semblance  of 
probability,  on  its  face,  that  Joseph  Smith — an  unschooled  youth — 
did  write  it,  some  quite  noticeable  errors  in  the  use  of 
language  were  scattered  through  it  here  and  there.  Ac- 
cordingly we  find  that  this  alleged  hidden  conspirator,  Sidney 
Rigdon,  by  name, — wise  and  learned  above  the  common  run  of 
his  fellows,  put  a  few  signs  in  his  work  to  make  people  believe 
that  the  other  conspirator — the  unlearned  Joseph  Smith — was  its 
author ;  but  at  the  same  time  filled  his  writings  with  marks,  signs 
and  tokens  on  every  page  which,  he  must  have  known,  would  pro- 
claim the  fact  that,  in  his  own  power,  Joseph  Smith  could  not 
possibly  be  the  writer  of  such  a  work.  As  alleged  impostors  these 
two  men  knew  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  a  fraud,  and  they 
also  knew  who  was  the  author  of  that  work  on  the  assumed 
grounds.  They  knew,  too,  that  in  the  text  there  were  abundant 
evidences  to  prove  conclusively,  that  the  unschooled  Joseph  Smith 
did  not  write  it,  and  these  very  same  evidences  were  all  there  to 
show  that  some  one  learned  in  the  Hebrew  did  do  the  work;  yet, 
after  Joseph  Smith  was  martyred  and  the  question  of  his  successor 
was  being  discussed,  why,  we  ask,  in  the  name  of  common  sense, 
did  not  Sidney  Rigdon  come  forward  and  show  that  since  Joseph 
Smith  certainly  could,  not  be  the  author  of  the  book,  he  himself 
just  as  certainly  was,  and  cite  the  Hebraisms  and  other  Jewish 
signs  in  the  text  to  support  his  claim, — to  demonstrate  his  author- 
ship right  there  and  then — provided,  of  course,  that  he  knew  suf- 
ficient about  the  Hebrew  not  to  entrap  himself?  He  certainly 
coveted  the  leadership  of  the  "Mormon"  people,  and  the  shortest 
way  to  reach  the  goal  of  his  ambition  was  undoubtedly  to  prove 
conclusively,  that  he  was  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Mormon.  If 
such  he  was,  he  had  plenty  of  proof  at  hand,  for  that  purpose,  or 
at  least  an  abundance  to  demonstrate  that  Joseph  Smith  was  not 
its  author.  Yet  he  did  not  open  his  mouth  to  claim  his  reward — 
doubtless  the  very  reward   for  which,  if  an  impostor,  he  entered 


142  IMPROVEMENT   ERA 

into  the  conspiracy.  Some  may  say  that  the  shame  of  being  known 
publicly  as  an  impostor  sealed  his  mouth.  But  as  such  had  he 
not  already  on  every  page  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  disclosed  his 
true  character, — proclaimed  himself  a  falsifier,  a  fraud?  and  what 
shame  would  such  a  wretch  experience,  when,  unable  to  attain  the 
presidency  of  the  Church,  he  could  have  wreaked  a  sweet  revenge 
on  those  more  successful  than  himself,  by  simply  referring  to  the 
proofs  of  the  imposture,  if  such  it  were? 

Sidney  Rigdon's  silence  on  that  occasion  is  astonishing — 
accounted  for  on  the  safe  ground  that  he  said  nothing  in  this  re- 
spect because  he  had  nothing  to  say. 

A  digression  is  here  made  to  call  attention  to  the  absurdity  of 
an  alleged  strong  point,  which  has  been  made  by  the  enemies  of 
this  work  against  the  divine  origin  of  the  Book  of  Mormon.  It 
was  claimed  that  the  foundation  of  that  book  was  a  romance  writ- 
ten by  an  author  named  Spaulding.  The  manuscript  of  this  story, 
so  it  was  alleged,  fell  into  the  hands  of  Joseph  Smith,  and  from 
that,  as  a  base,  he  fabricated  the  Book  of  Mormon  imposture. 
Once  in  a  while  some  one  yet  makes  himself  a  laughing  stock  for 
his  wiser  fellowmen  by  repeating  this  story  as  truth. 

However,  this  was  the  main  stock  in  trade  of  the  enemies  of 
this  Church  for  many  years  in  their  attempts  to  account  for  the 
origin  of  the  book  just  named,  and  they  held  to  it,  loved  it,  and 
blazoned  it  throughout  the  world,  though  the  Hebraic  character  of 
that  record  ought  to  have  shown  them  plainly  that  Joseph  Smith 
could  not  possibly,  with  his  unschooled  power,  have  written  it,  not 
even  if  he  had  had  a  dozen  such  Spaulding  stories  upon  which  to 
base  his  writings.  But  though  the  enemies  of  this  work  have  found 
the  "refuge  of  lies"  swept  from  them,  time  and  time  again,  in  one 
way  or  another,  as  soon  as  some  aspiring  and  inventive  genius  pro- 
pounds some  other  false  theory  to  account  for  the  origin  of  the 
book  in  question,  they  embrace  it  with  eagerness,  though  seeminglv 
they  ought  to  be  more  cautious  from  past  experiences. 

Respecting  the  second  answer  to  the  question  as  to  the  source 
of  the  Hebraisms,  etc..  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  it  is  observed 
that  what  the  "Mormon"  and  the  non-"Mormon"  Christian  world 
unitedly  recognize  as  the  word  of  God — the  Bible — given  by  the 
power  and  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  does  this  very  thing  of 
expressing  celestial  and  revealed  thought  according  to  the  idioms 
and  literary  practices  of  the  Hebrews,  though  at  the  same  time 
some  of  the  individual  characteristics  of  the  inspired  writers  are  al- 
lowed to  appear  in  the  composition  also.  When,  therefore,  we  con- 
sider that  these  Hebraic  forms  of  expression  were  originally  in- 
spired and  given  to  Jews,  it  appears  plausible  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
would  not  desire  to  make  changes  in  them  further  than  was  neces- 
sary when  giving  a  translation  of  them.  Some  things,  doubtless, 
are  sacred  in  the  sight  of  God  as  well  as  in  that  of  men.     Respect- 


HEBREW  ANALOGIES  JN  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON      143 

ing  the  errors  in  language,  it  would  be  strange  if  the  Holy  Spirit 
had  suppressed  Joseph  Smith's  individuality  entirely,  since  it  was 
not  done  with  other  inspired  writers  whose  works  are  acknowl- 
edged as  sacred  by  all  professed  Christians. 

The  claim  of  inspiration  for  the  Book  of  Mormon,  or  for  "Mor- 
monism"  in  general,  has,  of  course,  to  be  made  good,  say  our 
opponents.  Well,  is  it  not  being  done?  About  the  only  evidence 
which  we  need  of  this  fact  is  the  alarm  which  its  growth  is  caus- 
ing in  some  quarters,  or  the  bluster  which  the  world  as  a  whole 
is  making  in  vain  efforts  to  stop  its  progress.  The  work  of  trying 
to  convince  the  people  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  a  fraud,  has 
been  going  on  for  a  generation ;  but  success  in  this  direction  is 
further  off  now  than  ever  before,  for  the  people  are  buying  that 
book  in  these  times  by  the  thousands  altogether. 

Good  material  wears  well.  No  part  or  portion  of  this  work  is 
getting  threadbare,  no  part  rusty.  Nothing  about  its  foundation 
principles  needs  to  be  substituted  by  something  more  modern  and 
"up-to-date;"  and  we  thank  God  for  this  gospel  just  as  it  stands. 

(the  end.) 


RUINS  OF  THE  LIBRARY  OF  LOUVAIN 

The  burning  of  Louvain,  and  the  bombardment  of  the  beautiful 
cathedral  of  Rheims,  France,  are  two  regretable  acts  of  the  Great 
War.  While  the  cathedral  can  be  restored,  the  ancient  carvings 
and  rich  works  of  art  which  perished,  can  never  be  replaced.  Many 
villages  in  both   Belgium  and   France  have  been   completely  razed. 


A  Righteous  Woman's  Recompense 


BY  LELLA   MARLER  HOGGAN 


V — Compensation 

There  was  a  challenge,  and  a  response  of  love-laughter  from 
every  blossoming  tree  in  the  garden.  The  air  was  heavy  with 
sweet  odors.  Here  and  there  a  soft,  white  cloud  hung  lazily  over 
the  low,  green  hills,  waiting  for  a  light  breeze  to  carry  it  down 
the  valley.  The  very  atmosphere  was  pregnant  with  prophetic 
promise. 

"He  is  coming,  my  own,  my  sweet,"  paraphrased  Ethel,  toss- 
ing the  newspaper  on  the  porch,  and  rushing  into  the  garden.  A 
soft  color  stole  into  her  cheeks,  her  eyes  brightened,  her  fingers 
trembled,  as  she  began  filling  her  kitchen  apron  with  apple  blos- 
soms and  lilacs. 

"Coming!  coming!  coming!"  chanted  in  her  ears  a  chorus  of 
insects.     Her  breath  came  quicky,  her  cheeks  flushed. 

"If  I  were  only  a  girl  of  ten,"  she  breathed,  "I  could  run  to 
meet  him  and  tell  him  how  very,  very,  happy  I  am  to  have  him 
back  again.  But  no — I  must  not  even  tell  Aunt  Lucy,  I  should 
not  even  admit  it  to  myself.  After  a  woman  wears  long  skirts 
and  avoids  remembering  her  birthday,  she  must  remain  in  her 
room  in  a  quiet,  conventional  manner  and  wait  to  be  wooed.  Even 
though  she  perish  for  love,  she  must  not  so  much  as  greet  a  man, 
unless  she  is  sought  by  him.     So  goes  the  creed." 

"  'Oh  fools  and  blind,'  this  is  my  day.  No  creed  shall  come 
to  mar  my  joy.  I  am  alone,  alone  in  my  house.  Alone  with  the 
joy  of  my  own  heart.  Tomorrow  is  the  twelfth  of  June — my 
wedding  day,  it  was  to  have  been  three  years  ago.  But  today, 
today  is  my  day !  Willard  is  released.  He  is  coming  home. 
Perhaps  he  is  home  even  now.  While  it  is  still  my  day,  I  shall 
sip  my  cup  of  joy,  lest  it  be  dashed  from  my  lips  tomorrow.  To- 
morrow there  may  be  another  woman,  today  Willard  Taylor,  you 
belong  to  me.     It  is  my  day  and  you  are  mine." 

With  a  glorious  light  in  her  eyes,  and  a  spring,  to  her  step, 
she  hurried  up  stairs  to  the  little  room  she  once  occupied  before 
Aunt  Lucy's  illness.  It  looked  rather  barren  and  dusty.  Hur- 
riedly arranging  her  flowers  in  two  large  vases,  she  placed  them 
in  Ned's  room  and  began  the  work  of  renewing  and  refreshing 
her  room.  Her  cheeks  glowed,  as  her  strong,  white  hands  quickly 
cleaned  and  beautified  the  room.     At  last  it  was  finished.     The 


A  RIGHTEOUS  WOMAN'S  RECOMPENSE  145 

painted  floors  shone.  The  old  rugs  looked  brighter  for  having 
lain  in  a  dark  closet  so  long.  The  fresh,  white  curtains  shone 
through  the  freshly  polished  window  panes.  The  large  vases 
of  flowers  gave  forth  their  fragrance.  Ethel  scrutinized  her  work 
closely  and  smiled — satisfied. 

"It  is  finished,"  she  soliloquized.  "Now  I  shall  eat  my  lunch, 
and  then  for  the  old  chest.     Truly  it  shall  be  my  day." 

Her  cheeks  paled  a  little  as  she  lifted  her  wedding  garments 
from  the  scented  heap  of  fine  linen  and  old  lace.  But  she  did 
not  intend  to  faint  or  do  any  foolish  thing.  She  had  refreshed 
herself  with  a  cool  bath  and  a  good  lunch,  and  she  was  fortified 
against  any  sentimental  regrets. 

"It  is  my  day,"  she  assured  herself,  again,  "and  I  am  going 
to  make  the  most  of  it.  Maybe  tomorrow  will  belong  to  some 
one  else." 

With  quick,  cleft  fingers  she  pressed  out  the  shining  linen 
and  satin,  robed  herself  in  the  beautiful  garments  and  stood 
viewing  herself  in  the  mirror. 

"A  little  old  fashioned,"  she  mused.  "But  never  mind,  it  is 
beautiful,  just  the  same."  So  saying,  sne  put  the  old  chest  back 
into  the  closet,  after  possessing  herself  of  a  large  box  of  letters, — 
Willard's  letters  to  her  while  he  was  attending  school. 

The  first  one  she  opened  chanced  to  be  his  last  note  to  her : 

"Dearest  Ethel:  Walker  has  sent  for  me  to  come  into  town  this 
afternoon.  I  leave  in  half  an  hour.  Sorry  I  can't  see  you  first.  I  shall 
be  back  Thursday.     Be  good.     Keep  cheerful. 

"Faithfully  yours, 

"Willard." 

That  was  almost  too  much.  The  old  memories  of  another 
man  crowded  in,  but  she  put  them  aside.  "Today  is  my  day — 
mine  and  Willard  Taylor's,"  she  said.  Slowly,  lovingly  she  read 
through  the  little  budget  of  letters.  Her  face  grew  inexpressibly 
sweet  and  tender  as  she  read.  Sometimes  there  were  tears,  but 
thev  were  tears  of  joy.  As  she  closed  the  box  and  placed  it  on 
the  table,  she  started  a  little. as  she  remembered  how  she  was 
gowned.  The  silence  of  the  afternoon  was  gone.  The  call  of 
bird  lovers  had  begun.  The  shadows  were  lengthening.  The  day 
was  done. 

"It  has  been  my  day,"  she  said,  almost  bitterly.  "Maybe  it  is 
the  last  one  I  shall  spend  alone  with  him." 

Slowlv  she  removed  the  beautiful,  white  garments  and  placed 
them  with  loving  touch  into  the  large  chest.  Then  garbing  her- 
self in  a  simple  gown  she  sat  watching  the  day  depart.  There 
were  footsteps  on  the  stair,  presently,  and  Aunt  Lucy  opened 
the  door. 

"What  have  you  been  doing?"  she  asked,  looking  about  some- 
what surprised. 


146  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

"Just  cleaning  up  my  room  and  enjoying  the  day,"  replied 
Ethel,  dryly. 

"I  have  glad  news  for  you,  my  girl.  Willard  is  home,"  she 
bubbled  out  joyously. 

"Have  you  seen  him?"  questioned  Ethel,  her  face  beaming. 

"Only  across  the  street.  But  he  is  splendid,  Ethel.  Just  as 
I  told  you  he  would  be." 

The  twilight  began  to  deepen  as  Ethel  and  her  mother  sat 
talking  and  mending,  in  the  cheerful  living  room. 

Ethel  folded  up  her  work  and  yawned  wearily.  "I  have 
promised  to  spend  the  night  with  old  Mrs.  Gray,"  she  said,  "I  had 
almost  forgotten  it.  I  did  not  know  you  were  coming  home,  and 
the  poor  old  lady  seemed  so  lonely  and  feeble,  when  I  called  yes- 
terday, that  I  promised  to  come  tonight." 

"You  must  not  disappoint  her,"  approved  Aunt  Lucy.  "Ned 
will  be  here  with  me." 

As  Ethel  was  making  her  way  up  the  alley,  leading  to  old 
Mrs.  Gray's,  an  automobile  went  slowly  past.  She  heard  a 
familiar  voice  that  sent  her  pulses  throbbing.  Looking  up,  she 
saw  a  fine,  manly  figure  leaning  over  a  small  woman  with  fluffy, 
golden  hair.  The  light  was  too  dim  to  distinguish  more.  But 
she  was  sure  the  woman  was  small,  and  that  her  hair  was  golden 
and  fluffy. 

"So  there  is  a  woman,"  she  breathed.  "No  wonder  he  did 
not  find  time  to  call  on  me.  I  am  glad  that  today  was  my  day, 
for  it  can  never  come  again." 

"Here  comes  my  bonny  bird,"  called  old  Mrs.  Gray,  "I  feared 
you  had  not  remembered." 

Ethel  exerted  herself  to  be  calm  and  gentle  and  lovely  with 
the  old  woman.  But  it  was  a  real  relief  to  her  when  the  poor  old 
eyes  finally  closed  in  sleep,  and  Ethel  was  free  to  give  her  thoughts 
to  herself  and  her  own  troubles. 

It  was  nearly  dawn  before  she  finally  forgot  herself,  and  fell 
into  a  sound  slumber.  And  it  was  with  considerable  reluctance 
that  she  left  her  bed  when  old  Mrs.  Gray  came  to  awaken  her  at 
an  unusually  early  hour. 

"I  knew  you  would  have  to  be  leaving  early,"  apologized  the 
old  lady,"  and  I  wanted  a  bit  of  a  talk  with  you  before  you  would 
be  going.     Your  words  always  cheer  me  up  so." 

The  grass  was  still  wet  and  the  meadow  larks  were  whistling 
from  the  near  by  fences,  as  Ethel  walked  out  into  the  glorious 
sunshine.     She  felt  old,  as  if  she  had  aged  in  a  night. 

"It  is  all  over,"  she  mused.  "My  life  is  like  a  dead  sea-shell, 
tossing  hopelessly  and  uselessly  out  to  sea.  I  have  tried  to  live 
true  to  my  own  fickle  heart,  and  it  has  led  me  into  a  burning 
waste.  All  the  bright  ambition  of  my  youth  is  gone.  The  deep- 
est desire  of  mv  womanhood  must  die  in  mv  heart.     This  is  the 


A  RIGHTEOUS  WOMAN'S  RECOMPENSE  147 

cost  of  living  true  to  my  conscience.  It  is  almost  too  much." 
Her  heart  cried  out  for  its  own.  The  mother  passion  of  her  soul 
hungered  to  offer  its  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  love,  and  she  was 
alone.  She  walked  aimlessly  out  across  the  meadow  and  up  over 
the  little  hill  into  the  shaded  lane  that  led  to  her  own  home.  It 
was  getting  warm  when  she  reached  the  lane  and  she  welcomed 
the  shade.  As  she  loitered  along  in  the  soft  grass,  absorbed  in 
her  own  unhappy  thoughts,  she  did  not  hear  a  muffled  step  be- 
hind her.  And  when  she  felt  a  strong  hand  on  her  arm  she  gave 
a  little  frightened  scream,  as  she  looked  into  Willard  Taylor's 
strong,  handsome  face.  He  did  not  speak  for  a  moment.  He 
was  anxiously  searching  her  white  face  with  his  eyes.  But  when 
the  drawn  lines  softened,  and  her  eyes  drooped  and  her  cheeks 
grew  crimson,  Willard's  anxious  gaze  became  a  glad  smile  of 
anticipation.  Drawing  her  up  very  close  to  him  he  whispered: 
"You  have  kept  your  promise,  haven't  you?  And  God  has 
saved  you  for  me." 

"Willard !"     There  was  a  sob  in  her  voice  and  she  waited. 
"Thank  God,"  he  whispered,  devoutly.     "You  do  love  me  in 
the  right  way.     I  knew  you  would." 

"But,  Willard — I  thought — I  am  sure— isn't  there  someone 
else?" 

"Girl  of  mine,  girl  of  mine,  I've  been  loving  you  since  you 
were  ten.     How  could  there  be  anyone  else?" 

She  dared  not  trust  her  voice  to  reply.  He  was  all,  he  was 
more,  than  her  vaguest  hopes  had  dared  to  picture  him — and  he 
loved  her.  Tt  was  the  dearest,  sweetest  dream  of  her  life,  mate- 
rialized. She  had  a  supreme  effort  to  control  her  emotion,  but  it 
was  useless. — the  tears  were  in  her  eyes,  were  on  her  cheeks,  and 
even  shining  on  his  coat  sleeve. 

"Sweetheart  of  mine.  Ethel  girl."  he  breathed,  his  own  voice 
deep  with  emotion.  "Tt  is  June,  love,  the  twelfth  of  June.  Don't 
you  know  it  is  our  wedding  dav?  I've  made  a  great  effort  to  get 
home  in  time.  And  here'  T  find  you  white-faced  and  weeping. 
Now,  I  want  you  to  smile  and  kiss  me  once,  and  get  ready  as  soon 
as  you  can  to  come  with  me." 

His  strong  arms  held  her  close,  as  he  kissed  her  blushing  face 

and  lips. 

"I  am  all  ready,"  she  whispered,  smiling  through  her  tears. 
"I  pressed  the  wedding  gown  yesterday." 

"And  there  are  no  doubts  nor  fears  this  time?       You  are 

really  happy  ?"  . 

"Happy?"  she  echoed.  "Measure  my  joy  by  your  own,  and 
then  treble  it !     Willard.  are  vou  sure  this  isn't  a  dream  ?' 

"Never  mind,  darline.  if  it  is  a  dream !  It  is  going  to  last 
forever,  you  know.  Tt  will  not  be,  'until  death  do  us  part,  but. 
'for  time  and  all  eternity.'  " 

(the  end") 


The  Lamb  of  God 


BY   ORSON    F.    WHITNEY 


|  Reprinted  from  "Elias,"  the  great  epic  poem  of  the  Lat- 
ter-day Saints,  a  new,  popular  and  annotative  edition  of  which 
will  shortly  be  printed  in  book  form.-] 

A  stranger  Star  that  came  frcm  far 

To  fling  its  silver  ray 
Where,  cradled  in  a  lowly  cave, 

A  lowlier  Infant  lay; 
And  led  by  soft  sidereal  light, 

The  Orient  sages  bring 
Rare  gifts  of  gold  and  frankincense, 

To  greet  the  hcmeless  King. 

O  wondrcus  grace!    Will  Gods  go  down 

Thus  low  that  men  may  rise? 
Imprisoned  here  the  Mighty  One. 

Who  reigned  in  yender  skies? 
Hark  to  that  chime!— What  tongue  sublime 

Now  tells  the  hcur  cf  neon? 
O  dying  world,  art  welcoming 

Life's  life — Light's  sun  and  moon? 

Proclaim  him,  prophet  harbinger! 

Make  plain  the  Mightier's  way, 
Thcu  sharer  of  his  martyrdom! 

Elias?    Yea  and  Nay. 
The  crescent  Mcon,  that  knew  the  Sun 

Ere  Stars  had  learned  to  shine; 
The  waning  Mcon,  that  bathed  in  blood 

Ere  sank  the  Sun  divine. 

"Gkry  to  Grd,  geed  will  to  man! — 

Peace,  peace!"  triumphal  tone. 
Why  peace?     Is  discord  then  no  more? 

Are  Earth  and  Heaven  as  one? 
Peace  to  the  scul  that  serveth  him, 

The  Monarch  manger-bcrn; 
There,  ruler  of  unnumbered  realms; 

Here,  thrcneless  and  forlorn. 

He  wandered  through  the  faithless  world, 

A  Prince  in  shepherd  guise; 
He  called  his  scattered  fleck,  but -few 

The  Voice  did  reccgnize; 
Fcr  minds  upberne  by  hcllow  pride, 

Or  dimmed  by  sordid  lust, 
Ne'er  lcok  for  kings  in  beggar's  garb, 

For  diamends  in  the  dust. 

&        M 


w  ^1 


Wept  he  above  a  city  doomed, 

Her  temple,  walls,  and  towers, 
O'er  palaces  where  recreant  priests 

Usurped  unhallowed  powers. 
"I  am  the  Way,  the  Life,  the  Light!" 

Alas!  'twas  heeded  not. 
Ignored— nay,  mocked;  Gcd  seemed  by  man! 

And  spurned  the  truth  he  taught. 

O  bane  of  damning  unbelief! 

When,  when  till  now,  so  rife? 
lhou  stumbling  stcne,  thou  barrier  'thwart 

The  gates  of  endless  life! 
O   love  of  self,  and  mammon  lust, 

Twin  portals  to  despair, 
Where  bigotry,  the  blinded  bat, 

Flaps  through  the  midnight  air! 

Through  these   gleom-wrapt  Gethsemane! 

Thy  glens  cf  guilty  shade 
Grieved  e'er  the  sinless  Sen  of  God, 

By  gold-bought  kiss  betrayed; 
Beheld  him  unresisting  dragged, 

Frrsaken,  friendless,  lene, 
To  halls  where  dark-brewed  hatred  sat 

On  judgment's  lofty  thrcne. 

As  sheep  before  his  shearers,  dumb, 

Those  patient  lips  were  mute; 
The  clamorous  charge  of  taunting  tongues 

He  deigned  not  to  dispute. 
They  smote  with  cruel  palm  a  face 

Which  felt  yet  bore  the  sting; 
Then  crowned  with  thorns  his  quivering  brew, 

And,  mocking,  hailed  him  "King!" 

Transfixt  he  hung — O  crime  cf  crimes! — 

The  God  whem  worlds  adore. 
"Father  forgive  them!"     Drained  the  dregs; 

Immanuei — no  more. 
No  more  where  thunders  sheck  the  earth, 

Where  lightnings  tore  the  glocm, 
Saw  that  unconquered  Spirit  spurn 

The  shackles  of  the  tomb. 

Far-flaming  light,  a  swerd  of  might, 

A  falchion  frcm  its  sheath, 
It  cleft  the  realms  of  darkness,  and 

Dissolved  the  bands  of  Death; 
Hell's  dungeons  burst,  wide  open  swung 

The  everlasting  bars. 
Whereby  the  ranscmed  soul  shall  win 

Those  heights  beyond  the  Stars. 


^ & 


God's  Kingdom 


RY   GRACE   ZENOR-ROBERTSON 


The  ways  of  God  are  strange  beyond  our  understanding — the  ways  in 
which  he  sounds  the  natures  of  men  and  proves  the  sincerity  of  their 
faith  in  him. 

Tis  the  sweet  half  gloom  of  the  twilight — beyond  lies  the 
great,  dark  city,  in  the  embrace  of  the  darkling  sea,  where  ships 
are  forever  steaming  in,  with  their  burdens,  and  with  their  bur- 
dens steaming  out  to  sea  again. 

I  see  the  lights  awaken  in  the  busy  streets ;  I  watch  the  last 
of  the  sunbeams  flicker  over  the  white  sails  in  the  harbor,  while  I 
struggle  to  forget  the  message  that  has  come  to  me.  They  tell 
me  I  shall  miss  one  face  from  among  the  many  welcoming  faces 
that  await  me  at  home — that  home  so  far  away — so  very  far  away 
tonight.  I  cannot  hear  the  church-bells  ring,  nor  yet  the  songs 
they  sing  at  evening,  nor  see  the  kindly  faces ;  but  they  are  there, 
I  know. 

When  first  the  message  came  to  me,  I  doubted  friends,  I 
doubted  life  itself,  and  for  one  awful  moment,  I  doubted  even 
God.  The  once  loved  mountains,  fields  and  winding  rivers,  I 
had  so  longed  to  see,  were  dear  to  me  no  more.  I  watched 
the  ocean,  like  a  living  thing,  tossing  always  restlessly ;  I  heard 
the  booming  of  the  sea  on  some  far  distant  reef. 

I  was  alone — and  what  was  life  to  one  alone  ?  Yet  only  one 
was  missing  from  that  smiling  circle.  Father,  mother — all  the 
rest  were  there.  I  lived  again  the  moments,  now  so  seeming  few, 
when  first  I  met  her — when  in  danger  I  had  felt  the  clinging  of  a 
little  hand.  I  saw  the  old  church  half  ivy-covered,  where  often 
I  had  seen  her  loved  figure,  high  up  in  the  tiny  gallery,  and  had 
loved  to  watch  her  slender  fingers  on  the  keys.  I  have  fancied 
her  an  angel  in  her  gown  of  white,  when  the  sunshine  fell  across 
her  sunny  hair.  I  heard  the  old-time  melodies,  so  soft,  so  low — 
then  the  booming  of  the  heavy  sea  rolled  nearer,  and  the  music 
ceased. 

I  remembered  the  day  they  told  me  I  should  go  to  other 
lands,  and  she  came  to  me — I  feared  she  would  not  come — and  in 
her  eyes  I  read  a  message,  a  half  sadness,  I  fancied — but  in  a 
moment  happy  laughter  played  upon  her  lips,  as  she  caught  up  a 
little  child  and  kissed  him  merrily  to  hide  her  tears. 

Why  had  the  days  never  before  seemed  so  lonely — so  endless 


GOD'S  KINGDOM  151 

— why  should  I  work  for  the  saving  of  other  men's  souls,  and 
have  all  end  like  this?  Ever  and  again  a  single  question  thrust 
itself  upon  me, — was  I  seeking  first,  God's  kingdom?  And  yet  my 
heart  was  failing.  Could  it  be  I  labored  for  reward?  That  which 
I  cherished  most  was  of  the  earth  no  more.  Was  it  for  this  or 
for  his  kingdom?  The  sea  was  moaning  far  out  on  the  harbor 
bar,  and  yet  over  all  fell  the  calm,  sweet  peace  of  evening,  while 
into  my  troubled  heart  stole  the  calm,  sweet  peace  of  prayer. 

One  night,  one  day,  have  passed  into  eternity — one  night  of 
sorrow,  one  day  of  prayer — and  now  again  the  twilight  finds  me 
awakening  to  the  remembrance,  so  sweetly  sad,  it  seems  an  angel's 
message  I  have  heard.  Once  more  I  see  the  snowy  hills,  the 
rugged  valleys,  so  far — so  very  far  away;  the  villages  dotting 
fertile  plains,  and  all  the  dear  familiar  faces — I  see  and  love  them 
all  tonight.  In  the  little  church  where  so  often  in  His  name  we 
gathered,  they  sing  His  praises,  though  other  hands  touch  the 
white  keys,  ever  so  softly,  and  I  miss  the  music  of  her  voice. 

'Tis  as  it  ever  was — this  great,  beautiful  world — hearts  all 
light  with  happiness,  and  hearts  that  faint  beneath  their  burdens 
and  their  many  fears.  I  had  been  brave  in  danger,  strong  in 
faith,  and  now  would  I  be  brave  no  longer,  work  no  more  for 
righteousness  ?  That  were  utter  weakness — that  were  utter  folly. 
For  what  is  this  little  day  of  earth  compared  with  an  eternity — 
to  days  and  days  of  perfect  happiness  that  stretch  far  into  distance 
all  unexplored?  And  in  those  days  we  find  our  treasures  fairer 
than  before,  and  see  our  Father  face  to  face. 

The  struggle  with  self  is  over.  Those  things  I  cannot  un- 
derstand, I  leave  with  God,  and,  trusting  in  his  promises,  I  wait, 
seeking  his  kingdom  first,  and  well  I  know  that  all  other  things 
shall  be  added  unto  me,  and  all  my  heart's  desires  be  granted. 

PARKER,    IDAHO 


Autumn 


When  the  dawn  in  radiant  garment  "arts  the  curtains  of  the  night, 
Tingeing  hill  and  vale  with  rapture  of  her  countenance  so  bright, 
My  soul  is  filled  with  wonder  of  a  glad  expectancy: 
Shall  the  coming  of  the  morning  sometime  bring  mine  own  to  me? 

When  the  day  hath  all  but  vanished  far  to  westward  in  her  flight, 
When  are  blended  gold  and  purple  into  witching  of  the  night, 
Slowly  on  the  waves  of  silence,  from  the  unknown  unto  me 
Comes  the  message — "I  am  waiting,  waiting,  heart  of  mine,  for  thee. 

Then  in  sunlight  or  in  starlight,  when  the  waiting  hours  are  done. 
T  shall  feel  his  love  about  me  and  our  lives  be  merged  in  one; 
In  life  or  death,  it  matters  not  when  he  shall  come  to  me, 
For  love  but  grows  more  perfect  in  God's  great  eternity. 

Ina 


Jesus  of  Nazareth 


BY    PROF.    J.    C.    HOGENSON 


If  we  were  in  Bethlehem  today,  we  would  see  about  a  mile 
away,  standing  in  the  little  plain,  a  small,  neglected  chapel  known 
as  "The  Angel  to  the  Shepherds."  It  was  here  where,  in  the 
beautiful  words  of  St.  Luke,  "There  were  shepherds  abiding  in 
the  field,  keeping  watch  over  their  flocks  by  night.  And,  lo,  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon  them,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
shone  round  about  them :  and  they  were  sore  afraid.  And  the 
angel  said  unto  them,  Fear  not :  for,  behold,  I  bring  you  good 
tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people.  For  unto  you 
is  born  this  day  in  the  city  of  David  a  Savior,  which  is  Christ  the 
Lord."  Then  it  was  that  the  heavenly  hosts  sang  the  sweet 
words,  "Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good  will 
toward  men." 

So  J?sus  was  born  in  Bethlehem. 

Passing  over  the  inspiring  record  of  his  childhood  and  youth, 
his  young  manhood,  his  temptations,  miracles,  discourses,  para- 
bles, and  expositions  of  the  gospel  of  salvation,  his  betrayal,  cru- 
cifixion, burial,  resurrection,  his  appearance  after  his  resurrection, 
and  his  ascension  to  his  Father  in  heaven, — it  need  only  be  said 
that  in  his  three  short  years  of  ministry  he  did  more  to  reform 
the  world  than  all  other  persons  have  done  in  a  life  time.  For 
close  on  to  two  thousand  years  his  teachings  have  shaped  the 
destinies  of  millions  of  people. 

The  law  of  Moses  demanded  "an  eye  for  an  eye."  The  law 
which  Christ  brought  was,  "Love  your  enemies ;  do  good  to  them 
that  hate  you."  His  teachings  tend  toward  the  universal  broth- 
erhood of  man,  the  redemption  from  sin  and  evil  of  the  whole 
human  family,  and  the  leading  of  the  thoughts  of  man  from  the 
mere  material  things  of  this  world  to  the  more  lofty  things  beyond. 
The  almost  universal  conflicts  and  contentions  of  the  warring  na- 
tions on  this  Christmas  day  only  emphasizes  the  need  of  a  better 
knowledge  and  understanding  of  the  teachings  of  Christ  and  a 
closer  adherence  to  his  doctrine.  And  it  need  not  be  a  specially 
prophetic  mind  to  grasp  the  thought  that,  through  the  fire  and 
blood  and  darkness  of  it  all,  the  light  of  Jesus  will  shine  to  the 
liberation  and  elevation  of  mankind,  to  the  onward  march  of  free- 
dom, to  the  life  of  love,  and  to  the  death  of  hate. 

The  question  is  often  asked  "What  is  the  highest  type  of 
man  ?"    When  Mark  Anthony  gazed  upon  the  dead  body  of  Gesar 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  153 

he  remarked,  "His  life  was  gentle,  and  the  elements  so  mixed  in 
him  that  nature  might  stand  up  and  say  to  all  the  world,  'This 
was  a  man.'  " 

Three  qualities  are  necessary  to  make  a  man — courage,  gen- 
tleness and  obedience,  not  mere  brute  courage,  such  as  animals 
and  warriors  show,  but  the  kind  that  combines  fearlessness  and 
gentleness.  These  two  elements  composed  the  majesty  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth.  He  walked  fearlessly  to  his  death,  yet  his  kindness 
and  sympathy  flowed  out  to  all  who  were  in  sorrow,  and  his  for- 
giveness extended  to  all  the  world.  Obedience  is  the  crowning 
greatness  of  human  nature.  Man  is  dependent,  not  independent. 
He  is  never  great  until  he  has  found  the  right  Master. 

There  was  once,  so  the  legend  goes,  a  certain  giant  called 
Opher,  whose  motto  was,  "I  serve  the  strongest."  He  first  served 
the  mayor  of  the  town,  because  he  was  the  strongest  official  he 
knew ;  then,  in  turn,  he  served  the  duke,  the  king,  the  emperor. 
Finally  he  learned  that  the  emperor  was  afraid  of  the  devil,  so  he 
forsook  the  emperor  and  began  serving  the  devil.  One  day  as 
the  two  were  going  along  the  way,  they  came  to  an  intersection 
of  roads  where  a  cross  was  set  up.  The  devil  flinched  at  the  sight 
of  the  cross,  and  when  asked  by  Opher  why  he  flinched,  he  said 
that  he  had  no  power  nor  authority  to  come  near  the  cross  which 
was  a  symbol  of  Christ.  Opher  immediately  left  the  devil,  and 
sought  means  by  which  he  might  serve  Christ.  One  night  he  met 
an  old  man  who  told  him  that  if  he  would  serve  Christ,  he  must 
serve  man,  for  it  is  written,  "Inasmuch  as  ye  do  it  unto  the  least 
of  these  my  brethren,  ye  do  it  also  unto  me."  Opher  now  set  up 
a  ferry,  in  a  dangerous  place  on  a  river,  where  many  lives  had 
been  lost.     Here,  year  after  year,  he  ferried  people  safely  across. 

One  night,  during  a  terrible  storm,  there  came  a  knock  at 
his  door.  He  opened  his  door  and  found  a  small  child  standing 
there.  The  child  asked  to  be  ferried  across  immediately.  Opher 
tried  to  reason  with  the  child  to  wait  until  the  storm  abated,  but 
the  child  insisted  on  being  taken  across  immediately.  They 
started  to  cross,  and  after  battling  with  the  storm  for  a  long  time, 
the  child  was  landed  safely  on  the  oposite  shore.  Opher's  strength 
was  so  far  gone  that  he  fell  in  a  faint  on  the  shore.  Soon  the 
storm  was  over ;  and,  on  the  morrow,  the  sun  came  out,  and  angels 
came  and  administered  to  the  exhausted  man.  The  child  whom 
he  had  ferried  across  the  stream  was  an  angel  of  God,  and  Opher 
had  done  his  best  to  serve  even  a  little  child. 

If  we  are  brave,  and  strong,  and  gentle,  find  our  right  Master, 
and  keep  his  commandments,  and  serve  our  fellow  men,  then 
Christ  will  be  pleased  with  our  lives,  and  we  will  gain  an  exalta- 
tion in  his  presence. 

We  have,  in  the  life  of  Christ,  every  deed  worthy  of  imitation, 
and  every  act  and  example  worthy  of  being  adopted  into  our  own 


154 


IMPROVEMENT   ERA 


lives.  When  we  begin  in  earnest  to  follow  in  his  footsteps,  we 
shall  live  more  worthily,  help  to  elevate  the  human  family  to  a 
higher  standard,  and  so  bring  about  "peace  on  earth,  and  good- 
will toward  men." 


I.OGAN,  UTAH 


Christmas  Bells 


In  aftertimes,  again  the  echo  swells; 

And  lo,  on  earth,  from  every  land  and  clime, 
The  clanging  of  the  merry  Christmas  bells 

Wafts  far  and  wide  on  happy  Christmas  time 
Judean    mem'ries.      How    the  heart  o'erfills 

For  joy  they  bring  and  love  to  all  on  earth; 
And,  floating  o'er  the  everlasting  hills 
They  chime,  "All  hail,  all  hail,  the  Christ  Child's  birth. 

This  is  the  Glory  song,  the  song  of  love, 

A  song  the  angels  ever  sing  above, 
Before  God's  throne,  for  e'er,  they  chant  this  strain, 

With  "Conqueror,  mighty  Conqueror,"  its  refrain. 
God  looks  on  Earth  while  yet  it  moves  in  space, 

With  smiles  of  approval  wreathed  upon  his  face, 
For  morn  brought  One  whose  peace  shall  end  all  strife, 

This  day  of  days  the  Christ  Child  brings  us  life. 

Lydia  D.  Alpkr. 


■HKBii 


i>»      P,ri;  fra  Heine 


NATURAL  SCENERY  AT  HONEFOS,  NORWAY. 


A  Reversal 

BY  LOUIS   W.   LARSEN 


A  youth  longed  ardently  for  the  joys  of  life.  He  was  lured 
by  the  gaieties  and  drawn  irresistibly  by  the  Goddess  of  Pleasure. 
There  was  a  hunger  in  his  heart  that  could  be  gratified  only  by 
mad  indulgence.  For  him,  satiety,  even  if  it  involved  his  destruc- 
tion. He  counted  not  the  cost,  he  cared  not  for  the  consequence. 
What  of  wild  oats!  In  the  seed  time  there  was  ecstasy,  in  the 
harvest — ah,  he  wouldn't  think  of  that ! 

Then  came  a  Siren  of  Pleasure  and  whispered  softly  to  h:m, 
"Come,  I  will  fulfil  the  dream  of  your  impetuous  youth.  You 
shall  drink  your  fill  at  the  fountain  of  perishable  joy."  And  he 
followed,  infatuated  with  her  beauty,  intoxicated  by  her  fair 
promise. 

She  led  the  way  to  a  lofty  eminence  from  which  he  could 
look  down  upon  a  scene  of  transcendent  brilliance.  It  was  more 
dazzlng  even  than  the  visions  of  his  dream  hours.  He  was  spell- 
bound, enravished,  his  soul  keyed  to  the  intensity  of  wildest 
anticipation.  There  stretched  before  him  a  vision  of  infimte 
light.  Soft,  luring  strains  of  music  went  out  on  the  perfumed 
air,  nrngled  with  the  ripple  of  a  thousand  cheery  voices.  A  host 
of  revelers  was  there,  light-hearted,  gay,  bent  on  the  gratifica- 
tion of  every  carnal  passion.  They  moved  about  in  that  wonder- 
ful fairyland  with  the  nonchalant  tread  of  the  carefree.  "Wine, 
woman  and  song"  filled  every  fleeting  hour  with  the  fullest  meas- 
ure of  intoxicating  joy.  The  youth  was  in  a  frenzy  of  suspense, 
eager  to  rush  into  the  happy  throng  that  beckoned  him.  This 
surely  was  the  fullfilment  of  his  dreams,  the  hour  of  realization ! 

He  was  determined  to  go  down  with  his  fair  guide,  but  she 
detained  him  to  say : 

"These  are  the  pleasures  you  have  long  dreamed  of,  and 
now  you  are  to  partake  to  your  heart's  desire.  No  one  can  deny 
you,  there  is  no  law  that  forbids  it.  If  this  is  the  life  you 
choose " 

Then  he  would  have  rushed  away,  but  the  Siren  said :  "Yet 
a  moment,  ere  you  plunge.  I  am  commissioned  to  initiate  you 
into  this  l'fe  of  dissipation,  but  there  is  one  condition.  You  must 
know  that  worldly  pleasures  are  fleet'ng.  They  endure  for  a  day, 
then  are  gone  forever.  You  pluck  the  rose,  and  :ts  perfume  for 
a  breath  is  exquisite,  but  its  hidden  thorn  pierces  your  flesh  and 
the  wound  for  many  days  is  sore  and  vexing.     T  must  warn  you 


156  IMPROVEMENT   ERA 

that  excess  means  ultimate  disappointment.  You  must  know 
of  the  blighting  remorse  that  will  fill  up  the  days  of  your  later 
life." 

"Bah,"  said  the  youth,  "speak  not  to  me  of  retribution.  It 
frightens  me  not  in  the  least,  nor  serves  one  whit  to  lessen  my 
determination  to  indulge.     Let  the  consequence  be  what  it  will." 

"Very  well,"  she  said,  "but  one  thing  more,  and  I  will  leave 
you  forever.  In  your  case  things  are  to  be  strangely  reversed, 
it  is  decreed  that  the  remorse  must  precede  the  indulgence.  You 
must  suffer  the  pangs  of  a  guilty  conscience  for  many  long  years ; 
you  must  smart  under  the  disappointment  of  a  debauched  life ; 
you  must  reap  the  whirlwind  ere  you  sow  to  the  wind.  I  exact 
from  you  only  the  pr'ce  that  every  recreant  must  pay,  but  you 
must  pay  in  advance." 

Then  the  scene  before  him  changed.  The  resplendent  glory 
of  it  all  faded  slowly  away,  and  he  was  lookmg  down  into  the 
blackness  of  a  yawning  abyss.  The  sounds  that  issued  thence 
were  no  longer  the  sweet  strains  of  music,  but  the  horrible  shrieks 
of  the  damned.  As  he  peered  into  the  darkness,  he  caught  sight  of 
faces  that  he  recognized,  faces  that  a  moment  before  had  borne 
no  trace  of  care,  but  that  were  now  furrowed  with  the  deep  and 
tragic  lines  of  misery.  And  the  meairng  of  it  all  was  borne 
home  to  the  astounded  youth  with  a  thundering  emphasis.  This 
was  the  remorse  that  followed  indulgence,  the  remorse  that  in 
his   case   must   precede   it ! 

Then  the  darkness  fell  away  and  the  vision  of  the  revelers 
returned. 

"Now  choose,"  said  the  Siren,  and,  without  another  word, 
she  vanished  as  mysteriously  as  she  had  come. 

And  the  revelers  with  one  accord  beckoned  him,  but  he  turned 
away. 


The  Way  of  Sin 


Fraught  with  gloom  of  myriad  shadows 

That  the  distance  veils  from  sight, 
Artfully  it  lures  the  traveler 

Onward  by  mirage  of  light. 

But,  have  feet  of  those  who've  wandered 

Down  that  path    not  left  behind 
Imprint  of  exquisite  torture, 

For  each  seeking  soul  to  find? 

Tear  away  the  mocking  verdure! 

See!  its  growth  doth  overlay 
Wreckp^e  that  since  Time's  inception 

Hath  incarnadined  the  way. 

Grace  Ingles  Frost 


Sunset  on  the  Jungfrau 

,  Pn  ^,AlPst  most  wonderful  mountain  there  rests  light  fleecv 
clouds  which,  as  they  roll  slowly  away,  reveal  in  deepest  blue  the 
splendor  of  its  majesty.  Towering  heavenward,  the  Tungfrau 
summit,  pulsating  in  the  sun's  scintillating  rays,  binds  the  heart 
as  with  a  spell.  As 
with  tongues  of  flame, 
the  mantle  of  dying- 
day  enfolds  like  a 
holocaust  her  snowy 
form.  Before  our  eyes, 
the  Jungfrau  is  trans- 
formed from  the  vir- 
gin of  snow  to  the 
bride  of  the  dying  day. 
As  a  virgin  she  was 
immaculate,  as  a  bride 
she  is  glorified.  En- 
compassed round 
about  with  fire,  the 
bridal  procession  be- 
comes gorgeous  be- 
yond comparison. 

The  scene  is 
changed:  the  flaming 
sunset  pales.  Trans- 
parent clouds  of  crim- 
son, green,  and  gold 
reflect  the  coral  reefs 
of  the  sea.  Then  clouds 
of  varying  brilliance, 
their  forms  silhouet- 
ted against  the  sky, 
mingle  and  densely 
pile  together  in  frag- 
ments, drifting  when  they  part,  each  becoming  more  and  more  in- 
distinct as  it  melts  away.  Evening  comes  with  softened  charm  ; 
her  dress  most  beautiful.  Exquisite  shades  of  amber  twine  with 
purple  rifts  all  edged  with  gold.  The  day-god's  wide  procession, 
fading,  now  circles  on.  It  gathers  up  and  weaves  stray  sunbeams 
into  its  train,  one  by  one.  Ere  long  this,  too,  dissolves  and  floats 
awav  on  banks  of  silvery  sheen.  Dark  and  more  somber  grows  the 
eve.  Dense  shadows  gather,  interweaving  with  night's  black  clouds. 
Change  follows  change,  until  all  is  lost  in  the  land  of  dreams. 
Night  draws  her  filmy  curtains,  one  by  one,  but  ere  she  shuts 
the  vision  out,  as  it  were  from  the  world  forever,  she  lights  a  sin- 
gle, solemn,  wide-eyed  star  to  shine  over  the  Jungfrau's  funeral 
pyre.  Lydia  D.  Alder 


The  Star  of  Bethlehem 

O    radiant  Star  divine ! 
What  glory  and  mystery  were  thine 
That  night 

When  thy  light,  transcendently  bright, 
Glorified  Bethlehem  town ! 

Where,  devoid  of  all  trappings  empty  and  vain, 
A  King  laid  him  down  to  rest, 
Enthroned  at  his  mother's  breast; 
For  pain  had  hallowed  the  bed 
That  cradled  his  head — 
God's  only  begotten  One ! 
Yet  didst  marvel,  O  Star,  thy  rays  flung  afar. 
That,  wrapt  in  sleep,  the  little  town  lay, 
Nor  heeded  the  babe  asleep  on  the  hay? 
For  none,  save  the  humble,  and  wise, 
Heard  the  message,  that  night,  from  the  skies. 
The  shepherds'  souls  were  filled  with  awe 
N  t  the  wonder  which  they  saw ; 
And  across  the  wild  and  desert  waste 
The  magi  came  in  eager  haste 
To  worship  there 
In  Bethlehem,  the  fair ! 
O  would  such   faith, 

0  Star,  were  mine 

To  follow  o'er  a  trackless  way, 

Through  silence  and  through  night  a  flaming  light ; 

To  know  when  I  had  seen — 

Within  the  stable  low  and  mean —     ' 

In  manger  'stead  of  carven  bed, 

When  I  beheld  that  little  head, 

1  looked  upon  a  King! 

Not  fame  nor  riches,  naught  save  faith. 
To  onward  press  when  promised  Star 
Doth  shine — 

For  it  hath  ever  led,  as  thou  of  old, 
Unto  a  shrine ! 

Maud    Baggarley. 


The  Man  at  the  Helm 


x-     '  ??a?«tt  a  cel,cbratipnof  President  Joseph  F.  Smith's  anniversary, 
Nov.  13,  1914,  at  the  Brigham  Young  University,  Provo.) 

Our  big  white  Ship  is  sailing 

Across  Life's  mystic  sea; 
"lis    headed    for    the    harbor 

Of  "God's  Eternity." 
The  name  above  its  rudder 

Gleams  like  a  beacon  light; 
"The  Gospel!"     How  it  beckons 

To  ships  lost  in  the  night. 

Our  big  white  Ship  was  builded 

With  room  on  deck  for  all. 
'Tis  sending  forth  its  life-boats, 

Each  manned  with  men  who  call, 
"Ahoy!"  to  ships  that  venture 

Too  near  destruction's  rock; 
With  men  who  row  as  saviors 

To  sinking  ships  that  mock. 

Our  big  white  Ship  plows  fearless; 

Each  beam  and  spar  and  strand. 
Was  placed  in  perfect  order 

By  the  Master  Builder's  hand. 
To  the  man  who  holds  the  tiller. 

As  the  big  ship  sails  along— 
To  the  man  who  guides  the  rudder. — 

To  him,  this  day,  our  song. 

To  the  man  at  the  helm,  who  steadies 

The  big  white  Ship  each  day; 
Who  sees  the  rocks  and  breakers 

And   steers  the   ship   away; 
The  eye  at  the  helm  is  constant; 

The  heart  at  the  helm  is  true; 
The  hand  at  the  helm  is  faithful, 

As  it  guides  for  me  and  you. 

The  man  at  the  helm  ne'er  wavers 

Though  tempests  howl  and  roar. 
When  his  sailors  doubt  and  quiver, 

His  courage  seems  the  more. 
The  light  that  guides  our  pilot 

We  may  not  always  see. — 
That  he  the  light  is  given 

Should  be  enough  for  me. 

O,  man  at  the  helm,  we  bring  thee 

Our   faith,   and   trust,   and    love. 
Full  well  we  know  thy  compass 

Is  guided  from  above. 
Our  big  white   Ship   is   sailing 

Across  Life's  mystic  sea. 
We'll  reach  the  harbor  safely, 

O,  man  at  the  helm,  with  thee! 

Elsie  Chamberlain  Carroix 


Editors'  Table 


Our  Battle— To  Conquer  Evil" 


BY  PRESIDENT  TOSEPH  F.  SMITH 


I  feel  very  grateful  for  the  excellent  peace  and  spirit  which 
have  pervaded  all  our  meetings.  It  is  true,  we  are  all  engaged  in  a 
warfare,  and  all  of  us  should  be  valiant  warriors  in  the  cause  in 
which  we  are  engaged.  Our  first  enemy  we  will  find  within  our- 
selves. It  is  a  good  thing  to  overcome  that  enemy  first,  and  bring 
ourselves  into  subjection  to  the  will  of  the  Father,  and  into  strict 
obedience  to  the  principles  of  life  and  salvation  which  he  has  given 
to  the  world  for  the  salvation  of  men.  When  we  shall  have  con- 
quered ourselves,  it  will  be  well  for  us  to  wage  our  war  without, 
against  false  teachings,  false  doctrines,  false  customs,  habits  and 
ways,  against  error,  unbelief,  the  follies  of  the  world  that  are  so 
prevalent,  and  against  infidelity,  and  false  science  under  the  name 
of  science,  and  every  other  thing  that  strikes  at  the  foundation  of 
the  principles  set  forth  in  the  doctrine  of  Christ  for  the  redemption 
of  men  and  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 

We  should  war  against  coveteousness,  against  pride  and  van- 
ity, haughtiness  of  spirit,  against  self-sufficiency,  and  imagined  or 
supposed  almighty  power  that  some  people  think  they  possess. 
God  is  the  greatest  man  of  war  of  all,  and  his  Son  is  next  unto 
him,  and  their  warfare  is  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  men.  It 
would  not  be  necessary  for  men  to*  use  violence  or  force,  nor  to 
permit  their  children  to  use  violence  or  force  in  order  to  conquer, 
if  they  woud  but  humble  themselves,  and  obey  the  truth.  For 
after  all,  nothing  will  conquer,  nothing  will  win  but  the  truth ;  and 
so  far  as  the  wars  that  are  going  on  in  the  world  are  concerned, 
we  not  only  want  to  see  peace  established  among  the  children  of 
men,  but  also  justice,  but  above  all  things,  truth,  that  justice,  peace, 
and  righteousness  may  be  built  upon  this  foundation  and  not  de- 
pend upon  the  coveteousness,  pride,  and  vanity,  evil  desire  and 
lust  for  power  in  men. 

That  is  what  we  want ;  and  I  pray  that  the  spirit  of  truth  may 
be  poured  out  upon  all  men,  as  well  as  the  spirit  of  peace.  In 
fact,  we  will  never  have  peace  until  we  have  truth.  We  will  never 
be  able  to  establish  peace  on  earth  and  good-will  until  we  have 


♦Closing   speech    at   the   semi-annual   conference    of   the    Church, 
October  6,  1914. 


EDITORS'  TABLE  161 

drunk  at  the  fountains  of  righteousness  and  eternal  truth   as  God 
has  revealed  it  to  man. 

This  is  my  testimony  to  you,  and  I  desire  to  emphasize  these 
simple  thoughts,  and  say  to  all  my  brethren  and  sisters:  let  us 
conquer  ourselves,  and  then  go  to  and  conquer  all  the  evil  that  we 
see  around  us,  as  far  as  we  possibly  can.  And  we  will  do  it  without 
using  violence ;  we  will  do  it  without  interfering  with  the  agency  of 
men,  or  of  women.  We  will  do  it  by  persuasion,  by  long-suffering, 
by  patience,  and  by  forgiveness  and  love  unfeigned,  by  which  we 
will  win  the  hearts,  the  affections  and  the  souls  of  the  children  of 
men  to  the  truth,  as  God  has  revealed  it  to  us.  We  will  never 
have  peace,  nor  justice,  nor  truth,  until  we  look  to  the  only  true 
Fountain  for  it,  and  receive  from  the  Fountain-Head. 

God  bless  you,  my  brethren  and  sisters ;  I  thank  you  for  your 
attendance,  for  it  has  been  a  strength  to  us,  and  it  has  given  us 
consolation  and  comfort  to  see  you  here  and  to  know  that  you  are 
here  because  you  love  the  truth,  just  as  we  love  it;  and  many  of 
you  love  it  even  more  than  some  of  us  know  how  to  love  it.  For  I 
know  r'  people  in  the  world  who  are  true  Latter-day  Saints  from 
the  vciy  core ;  they  do  not  have  many  things  to  contend  against  in 
themselves,  either.  It  is  easy  for  them  to  be  Latter-day  Saints,  and 
truly  the  children  of  God,  because  they  love  the  truth  and  they 
live  pure  lives,  many  of  them.  I  am  satisfied  of  it.  Many  there 
be.  however,  who  have  a  good  deal  to  fight  against  within  them- 
selves, and  some  of  us  are  not  any  better  than  we  ought  to  be. 
Such  will  doubtless  gain  a  great  reward  if  they  conquer. 

Now,  in  conclusion,  let  us  go  home,  those  of  us  who  are  re- 
lieved to  go  home,  carrying  with  us  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  re- 
joicing that  we  have  the  liberty  that  we  enjoy,  the  liberty  to  wor- 
ship God  according  to  the  dictates  of  our  own  conscience,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  promptings  of  the  testimony  and  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  within  us ;  and  let  us  abide  in  the  truth.  My  blessing  I  give 
to  you.  May  peace  dwell  in  your  hearts.  May  it  abide  and 
abound  in  your  homes.  May  you  be  blessed  in  your  outgoings  and 
incomings,  when  you  lie  down  and  rise  up,  in  your  basket  and  in 
your  store,  in  your  business  and  in  all  your  lawful  and  worthy 
transactions  of  life,  and  in  your  ministrations  for  the  salvation  of 
mankind ;  the  Lord  bless  you  in  it. 

One  word  more.  I  wish  to  say  to  my  sisters,  and  especially 
to  those  who  are  called  to  be  teachers  among  their  sex :  Please 
set  the  example  before  your  sisters  that  God  would  have  them 
follow.  When  we  teach  people  to  observe  the  laws  of  God,  and 
to  honor  the  gifts  that  are  bestowed  upon  them  in  the  covenants 
of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  don't  want  you  teachers  to  go 
out  and  set  an  example  before  your  sisters  that  will  destroy  their 
faith  in  our  teachings.  I  hope  you  will  take  that  to  heart,  forit 
has  a  meaning  to  it.     I  am  talking  to  the  teachers  among  the  sis- 


162  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

ters.  We  hear  it  reported,  from  time  to  time,  that  some  of  the 
teachers  that  are  sent  out  among  our  sisters  not  only  do  not  set 
the  example  that  they  ought  to  set,  but  they  set  the  example  that 
they  should  not  set  before  our  sisters.  They  teach  them  by  ex- 
ample to  break  the  word  of  wisdom,  rather  than  to  keep  it.  They 
teach  them  to  mutilate  their  garments,  rather  than  to  keep  them 
holy  and  undefiled,  by  setting  the  example  before  them ;  and  we 
can  tell  you  the  names  if  you  want  to  know.  I  am  not  scolding ; 
I  don't  want  it  to  be  understood  that  I  am  finding  fault,  I  am  only 
telling  a  solemn  truth,  and  I  am  sorry  that  I  have  it  to  say,  but  I 
want  it  to  be  distinctly  understood.  We  see  some  of  our  good 
sisters  coming  here  to  the  Temple,  occasionally  decorated  in  the 
latest  and  most  ridiculous  fashions  that  ever  disgraced  the  human 
form  divine.  They  do  not  seem  to  realize  that  they  are  coming  to 
the  House  of  God,  and  we  have  to  forbid  them  entrance,  or  find 
fault  with  them,  and  they  go  away  grieved  and  say  sometimes, 
"We  don't  want  to  go  there  any  more."  Why?  Because  they 
come  unprepared,  like  the  man  who  was  found  at  the  feast  without 
the  wedding  garment,  who  also  had  to  be  turned  out.  (Matt. 
22:1-14.)  We  have  to  turn  them  out  occasionally,  because  they 
will  not  hearken  to  the  counsel  that  has  been  given  to  them.  May 
the  Lord  have  mercy  upon  us,  and  bless  and  help  us  to  do  our  duty 
in  all  things,  I  humbly  pray  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.     Amen. 


Christ,  the  King 


BY  PRESIDENT  CHARLES  W.   PENROSE 


Christ  is  King!  He  is  the  spiritual  Lord  of  all  who  believe 
in  him  as  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Savior  of  man.  Once  the 
despised  and  rejected,  even  of  his  own  race,  he  is  at  this  Christmas- 
tide  the  most  highly  honored  by  more  millions  of  all  nations,  tribes 
and  tongues  than  any  monarch  of  the  ages.  Each  succeeding  an- 
niversary of  his  bodily  birth  brings  him  nearer  to  the  earthly 
throne,  on  which  he  will  reign  as  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords. 
Hail  to  the  coming  of  the  mighty  One  who  is  "God  manifest  in 
the  flesh,"  who  conquered  death  and  lives  forever  more !  Christ  is 
not  only  "the  Lamb  that  was  slain"  but  the  "Lion  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah."  He  was  meek  and  mild  to  the  good,  and  forgiving  to  the 
ignorant  and  erring;  but  he  was  also  stern  and  forceful  against 
the  hypocrite  and  wilfully  wicked.  He  stands  for  justice  as  well 
as  mercy,  and  is  the  embodiment  of  all  the  virtues  and  all  the 
powers  of  divinity.  He  was  and  is  the  authorized  representative 
of  the  Eternal  Father,  "full  of  grace  and  truth,"  and  "no  man 
cometh  to  the  Father  but-  bv  him."     He  is  a  nerve-center  of  life 


EDITORS*  TABLE  163 

and  light  in  God's  universe.  He  was  the  first-born  in  the  family 
of  spirit  sons  and  daughters  destined  to  progressive  experience 
and  trial  for  the  honor  and  glories  of  complete  immortality,  and 
he  is  their  Leader  and  Redeemer.  Through  untold  cycles  of 
companionship  with  the  Father  he  witnessed  the  works  of  Deity, 
and  "all  things  that  the  Father  doeth"  were  shown  unto  him.  Thus 
he  was  qualified  to  figure  personally  in  the  creation,  and  to  act 
for  and  manifest  himself  as  "the  very  Eternal  Father  of  heaven 
and  earth."  The  story  of  his  earth-life  and  ministry — his  sacri- 
ficial death  and  glorious  resurrection — has  been  all  too  briefly  told 
by  New  Testament  writers,  but  sufficient  has  come  down  to  modern 
readers  to  lift  him  in  their  minds  above  all  the  sons  of  men  as  the 
one  sinless  and  perfect  Exemplar.  Therefore  we  adore  him  and 
sing  his  praise.  We  commemorate  the  day  celebrated  in  Christen- 
dom as  the  date  of  his  nativity,  and  we  echo  the  song  of  the 
angels  when  he  came  into  this  lower  world,  "Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest,"  for  sending  his  beloved  Son  to  rescue  humanity  from 
the  grasp  of  him  that  hath  the  power  of  death,  and  to  be  the  Res- 
urrection and  the  Life !  In  these  quiet  vales,  surrounded  and  pro- 
tected by  the  mighty  mountains,  let  us  enjoy  the  sweet  spirit 
of  Immanuel,  even  though  nations  afar  off  revel  and  riot  in  war 
while  professing  to  worship  him  as  the  Prince  of  Peace !  He  will 
yet  turn  and  over-turn,  wielding  the  rod  of  his  power  until  he 
makes  a  full  end  of  the  rule  of  this  world,  and  then  brings  in  a 
Christ's  day  of  gladness,  a  millennium  of  rest,  the  universal  reign 
of  earth's  rightful  and  everlasting  King.  To  the  readers  of  the 
Improvement  Era,  all  the  enjoyments  and  benisons  of  the  season ! 


Drunkenness  in  Russia 


The  Russian  government,  in  order  to  augment  its  income 
from  taxation,  some  years  ago,  took  over  the  control  and  sale  of 
intoxicating  liquors,  and  became  the  greatest  saloon-keeper  on 
earth.  About  ten  years  ago  the  revenue  for  the  empire  from  the 
sale  of  vodka  and  other  liquors  reached  two  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  a  year.  That  was  merely  the  revenue,  the  amount  of 
liquor  sold  was,  of  course,  enormously  greater. 

Before  the  war,  the  revenue  to  the  government  from  such 
sales  reached  the  enormous  amount  of  five  hundred  millions.  Such 
a  revenue  plainly  indicated  that  drink  and  drunkenness  had  in- 
creased enormously  in  that  country.  The  Emperor,  being  moved 
by  the  alarming  reports  that  came  to  him  about  the  sale  of  liquor, 
made  some  personal  investigations.  He  traveled  in  different  parts 
of  the  empire,  incognito  and  verified  the  sickening  reports  that 
came  to  him  about  the  drunkenness  of  his  people. 


164  IMPROVEMENT   ERA 

Dr.  J.  M.  Tanner  recently  gave  the  Era  a  statement  of  the 
Russian  liquor  situation.  He  says :  "Drink  is  the  fashion  every- 
where in  Russia.  They  drink  whisky  in  tea.  They  drink  it  with 
meals.  It  is  a  national  beverage  of  such  universal  use  as  to  be 
common  in  every  condition  of  social  life  in  Russia.  The  increase 
of  drunkenness  is  not  merely  reflected  in  the  increasing  poverty 
of  the  people,  but  is  lessening  the  national  efficiency.  School  chil- 
dren even  are  degraded  by  it.  Homes  are  filled  with  discontent 
and  quarrels.  Society  is  debased  and  the  evil  passions  of  the 
masses  are  so  easily  excited  that  they  become  the  prey  of  agita- 
tors and  men  whose  motives  are  misleading  and  base. 

"If  the  Russians  heretofore  have  been  unable  to  cope  with  the 
shrewd,  industrious,  and  economizing  Jew,  they  are  doubly  so 
now.  The  people  in  that  unfortunate  empire  are  exploited  almost 
everywhere,  and  made  the  victims  of  base  deceptions  practiced 
upon  them  by  all  kinds  of  speculators.  Drunken  brawls  in  the 
villages  have  become  more  frequent.  The  peace  of  society  is 
undermined,  and  the  morals  of  the  masses  seriously  threatened. 
The  craze  for  drink  in  Russia  has  been  the  subject  of  repeated 
warnings  from  outside  sources.  This,  and  the  cheapness  with 
which  liquor  may  be  obtained,  and  the  indirect  encouragement  by 
the  government  to  its  use,  gives  drunkenness  a  certain  license 
that  is  degrading  to  the  men  and  women  and  children  of  the  em- 
pire. The  Czar  has  become  greatly  alarmed  at  what  he  witnessed, 
and  doubtless  fully  determined  to  abate  the  evil  as  far  as  possible, 
even  if  it  could  not  be  wiped  out.  Of  course,  Russia  must  have  a 
large  income,  and  every  device  is  resorted  to  in  order  to  take  the 
money  from  the  great  masses  of  the  people,  but  it  is  discovered 
that  Russia  is  losing  in  wealth  in  precisely  the  same  degree  that 
it  destroys  the  efficiency  of  its  people,  and  their  ability  to  accu- 
mulate wealth.  Russia  perhaps  affords  the  most  dreadful  spec- 
tacle with  respect  to  drink  of  any  nation  in  the  world." 

But  all  this  was  changed  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  The  Czar 
then  ordered  the  prohibition  of  the  sale  of  vodka.  The  order  was, 
at  the  time,  thought  to  be  temporary,  but  so  much  improvement  re- 
sulted among  the  people  that  on  September  30,  the  Russian  min- 
ister of  finance  received  orders  that  the  prohibition  would  be  con- 
tinued indefinitely  after  the  war.  Press  reports  from  Southern 
Russia  say  that  there  is  such  a  change  in  that  region  that  the 
country  is  hardly  recognizable.  Peasants  who  before  the  war  had 
fallen  into  hopeless  indolence  and  depravity  already  have  emerged 
into  self-respecting  citizens.  These  people  now  save  55  per  cent 
of  their  earnings  which  formerly  was  spent  for  drink,  and  they 
have  increased  their  earning  capacity  through  sobriety. 

This  startling  regeneration  of  the  peasantry,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Russian  authorities,  is  likely  to  have  an  important  effect  on 
the  social  and  economic  conditions  of  all  Russia. 


EDITORS'  TABLE  165 

A  change  in  the  large  cities  also  is  noticeable.     Liquor  still 
is  sold  in  first-class  cafes,  but  these  are  practically  empty. 


Motherhood 


The  human  interest  in  this  letter  from  a  young  Utah 
mother  will  appeal  to  many.  With  her  husband  she  moved  to 
Colorado.  A  little  boy  came  to  them,  stayed  a  while,  and  left. 
She  writes  home,  under  date  of  October  1 : 

Beloved  Mother  and  All: — It  is  just  a  year  ago  since  I  was  at 
home.  What  changes  and  experiences  have  been  crowded  into  that 
short  space  of  time!  Truly,  life  is  made  up  of  sunshine  and  cloud,  and 
it  is  sometimes  hard  to  tell  which  predominates.  But  for  one,  I  can 
say,  "Father,  thy  will  be  done." 

My  boy  has  been  so  near  me  yesterday  and  today  that  it  seemed 
if  I  would  but  call,  his  angelic  face  would  light  with  his  mystical 
smile  and  his  rose-tipped  fingers  would  fondle  my  face.  It  seems 
years  ago  since  I  wrote  in  my  journal  my  dreams  of  the  complete 
life.  Even  then  I  realized  that  my  life  would  always  lack  something, 
until  I  felt  the  keen  joys  and  pangs  of  wife-  and  motherhood.  '  The 
Lord  has  been  good.  Those  experiences  have  been  mine.  "Praise 
God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow."  For  there  came  to  my  home, 
one  evening  in  spring,  an  angel  spirit.  He  came,  nestled  into  my 
heart,  and  then  quietly  answered  his  Father's  call.  Oh,  the  sublime 
joy  that  was  crowded  into  those  few  brief  months!  What  precious 
sips  of  heavenly  bliss,  what  glimpses  of  the  divine  life!  Only  those 
who  have  been  through  the  refiner's  fire  can  appreciate  such  exquisite 
joy.  Only  those  who  can  taste  to  the  full  the  joys  of  life  can  drain 
to  the  dregs  its  agonies. 

My  boy  has  gone  to  a  more  exalted  sphere  where  his  wonder- 
fully intelligent  spirit  may  have  a  greater  scope  for  usefulness  and 
development.  His  influence  has  not  left  me,  for  each  evening  in  the 
west  I  see  it  in  the  brightest  star  so  like  him.  Like  Bishop  Newman, 
I  look  to  the  stars,  and  say: 

"Lead,  kindly  light,  amid  the  encircling  gloom, 

Lead  Thou  me  on! 
The  night  is  dark,  and  I  am  far  from  home, 

Lead  Thou  me  on!" 

My  boy  does  lead  me.     He  is  the  connecting  link  between  me  and 
the  eternal.     Through  my  love  for  him,  I   constantly  strive  to  make 
life   such   that  when  I   hear  the  angel  voices,   I,   too,   can   smile 


my 
and  say 


"Father,  I  am  ready. 
Lead  Thou  me  on." 


Messages  from  the  Missions 


weste 


Elder  Ray  Finlinson,  president  of  the  Montana  Conference,  Nort 
:ern  States  Mission:     "The  Church  of  Jesus    Christ  of  Latter-d 


North- 
ay 


Saints-the  stone  cut  from  the  mountain  without  hands-and  set  up 
in    1830.  is  moving  along  and  will  continue  to  grow  until  it  fills  the 


166 


IMPROVEMENT    ERA 


whole  eartli.  Having  been  organized  of  the  Lord,  its  doctrines  have 
illuminated  the  minds  of  all  believers,  the  influence  and  manifesta- 
tions of  God's  power  has  spread  rapidly  throughout  the  universe,  being 
circulated  through  the  humble  efforts  of  the  'Mormon'  missionaries. 
Notwithstanding  the  opposition  and  prejudice  existing  among 
many  people,  we  have  been  marvelously  prospered  in  the  cities  of 
Montana,  so  that  the  progress  made  this  season  exceeds  that  of  any 
previous  year.     Elders  in  East  and  West  Montana  Conference,  Butte, 


f    f    C-.  5 

tWrt1 

i  f 

fin 

1  f 

f     i 

r  j 

March  22,  1914:  left  to  right,  top  row:  Ira  L.  Kenningt'on,  Afton, 
Wyoming;  John  Q.  Dutson,  Oak  City;  Henry  Williams,  Vernal;  Leon 
Matthews,  Providence,  Utah;  middle  row:  Edgar  Hill,  Granger;  Z.  W. 
Mitchell,  Escalante;  Peter  E.  Anderson,  Hinckley,  Utah;  A.  A.  Barney, 
Thatcher;  J.  M.  Savage,  Woodruff,  Arizona;  G.  J.  Henderson,  Cannon- 
ville,  Utah;  sitting:  C.  H.  Peterson,  president  of  the  Butte  Branch, 
Butte,  Montana;  O.  E.  Peterson,  president  of  the  West  Montana  Con- 
ference. Hyrum;  President  Melvin  J.  Ballard,  Northwestern  Stated 
Mission;  Ray  Finlinson,  president  of  the  East  Montana  Conference, 
Oak  City.  Utah;  W.  H.  Roundy,  president  of  the  Idaho  Conference, 
Escalante,  L^tah. 

Elder  L.  Albin  Erickson,  conference  secretary  of  the  Skone  Con- 
ference, Sweden,  writes  from  Malmo,  August  31:  "The  prejudice 
against  us  here  is  rapidly  dying  away  as  the  people  learn  that  what 
has  been  falsely  circulated  about  us  has  no  foundation.  Many  are 
investigating  the  doctrines  of  the  Latter-day  Saints,  and  we  are  receiv- 
ing invitations  from  a  number  of  places  to  hold  meetings.  During  the 
summer  our  labors  have  been  confined  to  the  country  districts,  where 
we  have  made  good  success  in  selling  books  and  bearing  our  testimony 
to  the  restoration  of  the  gospel  through  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith. 
We  have  five  branches  in  this  conference  with  two  elders  in  each 
branch.  Three  of  these  conferences  have  halls  and  hold  regular  meet- 
ings and  Sunday  Schools.  The  Malmo  branch,  the  largest  of  the  con- 
ference, has  a  Mutual  Improvement  Association  which  is  meeting  with 
good  success.  Many  new  visitors  and  investigators  have  met  with  us 
and  say  that  our  meetings  are  the  best  they  have  ever  attended. 
Though   our  progress  is  slow  in  the  matter  of  new  converts,  yet  we 


EDITORS    IABLK 


1<>7 


believe  in  due  time  the  efforts  we  put  forth  will  bear  fruit,  as  the  elders 

are   laboring  diligently  in   the  spirit  of  the  gospel.     Front  row,  left  to 


right:  Peter  Magnusson;  Mission  President  Theodore  Tobiason; 
President  Hyrum  M.  Smith,  and  son,  of  the  European  Mission;  Olu!' 
Monson,  retiring  conference  president;  second  row:  L.  A.  Oakeson, 
Carl  W.  Jonsson,  Charles  A.  Fjelstrom,  L.  Albin  Erickson,  conference 
secretary;  Jens  R.  Nelson,  released;  third  row:  Henry  Moray,  re- 
leased; John  A.  Carlson,  conference  president;  Francis  Lundell,  H. 
Erick  Petterson,  Clans  Persson,  Leroy  Olson. 


Nephi  Nordgran,  Gothenborg,  Sweden.  September  18:  "My  testi- 
mony has  been  greatly  strengthened.  I  have  observed  how  persecution 
against  the  truth  has  been  the  means  of  spreading  the  truth  the  more. 
I  have  learned  that  'God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way,  his  wonders  to 
perform,'  and  that  the  north  blasts  only  help  to  lift  to  greater  heights 
the  eagle  in  his  flight.  Elder  F.  O.  Dahl  of  Farmington  was  brought 
before  the  church  council  at  Jonkoping,  some  months  ago,  and  sen- 
tenced to  jail  on  the  charge  of  preaching  false  doctrine,  although  ho 
proved  that  he  preached  only  the  gospel  which  Christ  taught.  Through 
this  means  Elder  Dahl  had  the  chance  to  oreach  the  gospel  within  tin- 
prison  walls  for  twenty-three  days.  Elder  Erick  VV.  Johanson  and  Gid- 
eon Omer  were  both  called  before  the  church  council  and  likewise 
convicted.  They  appealed  their  case,  and  it  so  remains  unto  this  day, 
but  the  incident  had  the  effect  of  giving  us  a  chance  to  bear  our  tes 
timonies  to  the  truth.  Brother  Emil  Neilson,  of  Afton,  Wyo.,  and 
Walter  Turnquist,  of  Ogden,  who  labored  later  in  Gothenborg,  were 
arrested  at  three  different  times  and  brought  before  the  council,  at  one 
time  being  held  in  jail  for  six  hours.  Brother  Erick  W.  Larson  and 
Walter  Turnquist  were  convicted  by  the  church  council  and  fined 
seventy-five  crowns,  one  of  them  having  to  serve  in  jail  for  eleven 
days.  A  motion  had  recently  been  made  before  the  Swedish  parliament 
to  expel  all  foreign  missionaries  of  the  Latter-day  Saints.  President 
Theodore  Tobiason   was  called  before   that  body  last  July  to  answer 


158 


IMPROVEMENT    ERA 


some  of  the  charges  brought  against  us.  He  explained  the  truth  so 
clearly  to  them  that  most  of  the  members  could  plainly  see  that  the 
charges  made  against  us  were  false.  One  of  the  speakers,  Hon.  Mr. 
Tengdahl,  in  a  masterly  speech,  defended  the  Latter-day  Saints,  pro- 
ducing statistics  and  facts  showing  that  he  had  given  a  great  deal  of 
thought  to  the  subject.  The  outgrowth  of  the  whole  matter  of  this 
discussion,  on  the  12th  of  August,  was  that  as  far  as  Sweden  is  con- 
cerned, the  Latter-day  Saints  have  won  religious  freedom  by  a  vote 
cast  in  our  favor  of  73  to  .49.  The  results  of  the  present  European  con- 
flict has  been  to  help  bring  the  thoughts  of  the  people  toward  religion, 
and  they  now  stop  to  listen  to  our  humble  testimonies,  all  of  which 
shows  that  everything  is  working  to  give  opportunity  to  bring  the 
glorious  gospel  truths,  as  well  into  the  jails  as  into  the  high  places  of 
the  king's  courts,  and  among  the  middle  classes  through  the  press. 
We  feel  greatly  encouraged;  twenty-four  people  have  entered  the 
waters  of  baptism  from  April  to  September,  and  the  prospects  are 
bright  for  more.  The  greatest  desire  of  our  hearts  is  that  the  war 
shall  not  disturb  us,  but  that  we  may  remain  to  continue  our  work 
until  honorably  released.  My  testimony  is  that  God's  glorious  plan  of 
salvation  is  rapidly  spreading  over  the  earth  in  many  mysterious  ways.'' 
[Since  the  above  was  written  many  of  the  elders  in  Sweden  and 
other  parts  of  Scandinavia  have  been  released  or  appointed  to  other 
fields  of  labor.  Only  a  few  remain  to  take  charge  of  the  missions  and 
conferences.  A  large  number  of  elders  left  Copenhagen,  October  14.-T- 
Editors.1 


"Elders  of  the  Gothenborg  conference,  Swedish  mission,  July,  1914, 
back  row:  A  son  of  Hyrum  M.  Smith,  Erick  W.  Johanson,  A.  Gideon 
Omer,  A.  Edwin  Blomquist,  Emil  A.  Neilson,  Walter  Turnquist;  front 
row:  Otto  A.  Harrison,  President  Theodore  Tobiason  of  the  Swedish 
mission;  President  Hyrum  M.  Smith  of  the  European  mission;  Presi- 
dent Nephi  Nordgran,  of  Gothenborg  conference;  Erick  W.  Larson." 

President  H.  W.  Valentine,  of  the  Swiss-German  mission,  recently 
devised  a  plan  for  bringing  into  closer  association  the  home  and  the  mis 


EDITORS'   I. Mil. I- 


ic» 


v^kly  repor 
given  him.  The  report  for  each  clay  shows  tracts,  books,  gospel  "con- 
versations, visits,  and  a  report  on  how  the  evenings  of  the  missionary 
are  spent,  as  well  as  the  number  of  meetings  attended,  and  other  infor- 
mation pertaining  to  the  elders'  activity.  The  letter  is  intended  for 
the  family  at  home  and  calls  attention  both  to  the  instructions  to  the 
elders,  and  their  weekly  reports.  It  requests  that  the  parents  check 
up  and  co-operate  with  the  elder  in  seeing  that  the  instructions  are  car- 
ried out.  After  the  elder  has  passed  to  his  field  of  labor  and  entered 
upon  his  work,  copies  of  the  letter,  the  instructions  and  the  weekly  re- 
port, are  sent  to  the  parents  or  family  at  home.  In  this  way  those  who 
are  at  home  may  follow  the  daily  and  weekly  activities  of  their  repre- 
sentatives in  the  mission  field  with  comparative  intelligence.  The 
scheme  should  be  a  great  advantage,  both  to  the  home  and  to  the  mis- 
sionary.    The  Instructions  to  Elders  follow: 

1.  Learn  these  instructions  and  apply  them. 

2.  Send  in  your  address  promptly. 

3.  Get  out  of  bed  at  7  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

4.  Begin  work  the  first  day  and  keep  it  up. 

5.  Tracting:  Standard,  two  hours  per  day,  daily,  minimum. 

6.  Attend  all  meetings  where  you  belong. 

7.  Stick  to  the  law,  the  testimony,  and  your  own  field. 
When  transferred,  go  direct  and  at  once.. 
Be  orderly,  energetic,  and  systematic. 
Counsel  with  your  companions.    Argue  with  no  man. 
Observe  strictly  to  keep  "The  Word  of  Wisdom." 
Discourage  dancing.     Refrain  from  it  yourself. 
Act  as  the  escort  of  no  woman — anywhere. 
Keep  the  Saints  here.     Keep  still  about  America. 
Baptize  no  married  lady,  nor  children,  without  the  consent  of 

husband  and  parents  respectively. 

16.     Be  dignified  men.     Familiarity  breeds  contempt. 

Expend  your  own  money;  save  your  parents';  spare  the  mis- 
borrow  not  the  Saints'. 

Write  your  folks  Saturday.     Enclose  your  week's  report. 
Study  daily:     Gospel,  Language,  Music. 
Our  natural  sightseeing  is  so  rich:  don't  ask  for  specials. 
Keep  a  record  of  important  things:  neatly,  accurately. 
Love  this  people.     Respect  their  laws.     Criticise  not  their  cus- 


9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 


17. 
sion's: 

18. 

19. 

20. 

21. 

22. 
toms. 

23. 

24. 
P 


Fight  your  weaknesses:  they  are  your  enemies. 
Keep  your  expenses  within  twenty  dollars  ner  month. 
S.     Set  up  your  own  ideal  and  keep  it  before  you. 


Elder  Cyral  A.  Watson,  Vavau,  Friendly  Islands,  July  24.  This 
note  came  to  the  Era  office  on  the  14th  of  October:  "We  are  laboring 
faithfully  for  the  upbuilding  of  this  people.  The  elders  teach  school 
from  four  to  five  days  a  week  and  hold  their  various  meetings,  spend- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  week  in  proselyting.  Our  schools  are  the  best 
in  the  islands  at  present,  and  the  people  are  beginning  to  learn  that  we 
have  not  come  here  to  take  away  their  money,  as  some  of  th  other 
churches  are  doing,  but  to  build  up  and  improve  their  ways.  Our 
schools  are  open  to  all  who  wish  to  enter,  regardless  of  religious  belief. 
By  teaching  the  children  we  are  able  to  gain  many  friends  among  the 
older  people,  and  so  obtain  an  opportunity  to  preach  the  gospel.  On 
the  3rd  to  6th  of  July,  we  held  a  successful  conference  in  Vavau,  and 


many  of  the  native  brethren,  as  well  as  the  elders,  delivered  sermons 
l hat  we  hope  will  do  much  good.  Hopes  for  the  future  are  ver- 
bright."  Elders  Vavau  conference,  Samoan  mission,  back  row:  Newell 
J.  Cutler,  Snowville;  James  F.  Oviatt,  conference  secretary,  Cleveland; 
Claude  D.  Billings,  Delta;  Arzie  H.  Jaynes,  Sandy,  Utah;  front  row, 
sitting:  Conference  President  Cyral  A.  Watson,  La  Grande,  Oregon; 
Mission  President  John  A.  Nelson,  Jr.,  Cardston,  Canada;  Conference 
President  Evan  W.  Huntsman,  Tonga  Tabu  conference,  Idaho  Falls, 
R.  F.  D.  No.  4,  Idaho. 


Elder  Lorenzo  R. 
Parker,  Doncaster,  Eng- 
land: "My  companion 
and  I  have  had  the  priv- 
ilege of  visiting  many 
homes  where  we  have 
been  received  by  honest 
friends.  Many  standard 
Church  works  and  many 
thousands  of  tracts  have 
been  distributed  by  us  and 
we  believe  have  borne  fruit 
on  every  hand.  Many  are 
beginning  to  realize  that 
'Mormonism'  is  a  divine 
truth  with  the  power  to 
make  every  person  better 
who  observes  its  doctrines. 
Since  the  war  broke  out  in 
this  country,  our  success  is  greater  than  ever  before.  The  people  are 
thinking  more  seriously  of  the  purpose  of  life  and  consequently  our 
success  in  spreading  the  gospel  is  greater.  Elders  left  to  right: 
Orson  C.  Parker,  and  Lorenzo  R.  Parker." 


EDIT)  >RS     l  \i:i  I 


171 


I  lector  C.  llaight.  secretary  Australian  mission,  Sydney,  Sept.  24: 
President  and  Sister  Rushton  arrived  safely,  after  a  somewhat  event- 
ful voyage  from  San  Francisco.  News  of  the  outbreak  of  the  European 
war  was  received  by  the  ship's  officials  when  a  few  days  out  from  the 
port  "I  sail.  Fear  of  the  reported  German  cruisers  in  the  Pacific  caused 
(he  precautionary  measures  of  putting  out  the  lights  of  the  boat  during 
a  portion  of  the  voyage.  At  Wellington,  New  Zealand,  their  ship,  the 
'Tahiti,'  was  taken  over  by  the  imperial  government  for  use  as  a 
transoort,  while  the  passengers  and  mail  were  transferred  to  another 
boat  before  proceeding  to  Australia. 

"A  combined  welcome  and  farewell  social  was  given  by  the  Saints 
and  friends  on  the  occasion  of  the  arrival  of  President  and  Sister 
Rushton  and  the  departure  of  President  Taylor.  The  former  received 
assurances  of  goodwill  and  support;  the  latter,  words  of  appreciation 
for  his  missionary  labors,  and  best  wishes  for  a  continuation  of  the 
work  upon  reaching  his  home.  The  missionary  work  is  progressing 
despite  the  present  crisis  in  which  the  motherland  and  colonies  art- 
principals.  The  many  calls  of  benevolent  and  relief  organizations  for 
funds  are  taking  a  great  deal  of  the  surplus  money  of  the  working 
class,  hence  the  sale  of  literature  has  somewhat  slackened.  Although 
this  condition  exists  among  the  masses,  the  call  made  by  the  common 
wealth  for  volunteers  to  go  to  the  front  has,  to  a  certain  extent,  made 
the  majority  of  the  people  look  more  seriously  into  the  purposes  of 
our  existence  upon  the  earth.  The  way  is  thus  opened  for  us  to  explain 
the  oresent  condition  of  the  world  in  the  light  of  ancient  prophecy,  and 
put  before  them  the  plan  of  salvation. 


§  ?  j  if* 

1 

;    ■, 

1 

p 

i 

"Missionaries,  front  row,  left  to  right:  Estus  N,  Hammond,  con- 
ference president,  Logan,  Utah;  Mrs.  Rushton  and  Don  C.  Rushton, 
conference  president,  Salt  Lake  City;  W.  W.  Taylor,  retiring  mission 
president  Provo,  Utah;  back  row,  left  to  right:  G.  C.  Orme,  Tooele; 
J.  A.  Bingham,  Smithfield;  W.  I.  Ward,  North  Ogden;  H.  C.  Haight, 
Jr.,  mission  secretary,  Oakley,  Idaho;  C.  L    Earl,  Fielding,  Utah." 


Priesthood  Quorums'  Table 


Gospel  Themes. — Questions  and  suggestions  for  teachers  and  stu- 
dents, by  Elder  David  O.  McKay: 

PART   V — DISPERSION    AND   GATHERING   OF   ISRAEL    (CONTINUED) 

Lesson  33 — Chapter  III — To  the  Ends  of  the  Earth. 

1.  Give  a  brief  sketch  of  the  last  days  of  Joshua. 

2.  What  was  the  moral#condition  of  Israel  at  the  time  of  Joshua's 
death?     How  long  did  this  condition  remain?     (See  Joshua  23:24.) 

3.  When  did  the  Israelites  begin  to  depart  from  righteousness? 
What  was  the  result  of  their  transgressions? 

4.  What  was  the  difference  between  the  kingdom  of  Israel  and 
the  kingdom  of  Judah? 

5.  Who  was  Ahijah? 

6.  Name  other  prophets  who  foretold  the  dispersion  of  Israel? 

7.  Who  are  the  "lost  tribes"  of  Israel?     When  were  they  taken 
captive? 

8.  Read  in  the  Apocrypha  what  Esdras  says  regarding  these  tribes. 

9.  What  evidences  are  there  that  the  Ten  Tribes  went  north? 

10.  What  reasons  have  you  for  believing  that  the  Ten  Tribes  are 
still  intact? 

11.  How    do    you    account    for   the   presence    of    the    "blood   of 
Ephraim"  among  the  Latter-day  Saints? 

12.  Read  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  section  77. 

Lesson  34 — Chapter  III — To  the  Ends  of  the  Earth  (continued). 

1.  What  prophets  foretold  the  captivity  of  Judah? 

2.  Read  these  prophecies  in  the   Bible,  and  discuss  their  signifi- 
cance. 

3.  Where  was  ancient  Babylon  situated? 

4.  Who  was  Nebuchadnezzar? 

5.  Show  from  history  that  the  American  Indians  are  descendants 
from  Israel? 

6.  When  did  the  Jews  return  to  Jerusalem? 

7.  Who  was  Cyrus? 

8.  How  many  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ  did  this  return  to 
Jerusalem  occur? 

9.  What  prophecies   did   the   Savior   utter   regarding  the   destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem? 

10.  Give  an  account  of  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews  under  Titus. 

11.  Can  you  show  how  blessings  have  come  out  of  all  these  ca- 
lamitous events  in  Judah's  history? 

12.  Show  by  examples  that  God  answers  the  call  of  Faith. 

Lesson  35 — Chapter  IV — The  Call  of  the  Shepherd. 

1.  When  was  the  gathering  of  Israel  to  take  place? 

2.  Quote  the  important  prophecies  referring  to  the  gathering  in 
the  last  days. 

3.  What  does  the  "Mountain  of  the  Lord's  house"  mean? 

4.  What  part   of  Israel  has   thus   far   been   "gathered"  from   the 
nations? 

5.  Define    the    following    terms    as    used    by    Isaiah:      "Ensign," 


PRIESTHOD  QUORUMS'  TABLE  173 

''Shoulders  of  the   Philistines,"  "An   highway  for  the   remnant  of  his 
people,      Outcasts  of  Israel." 

i       6'rR,ela^r  tIle  circumstances  surrounding  the   Restoration  of  the 

keys  of  the  Gathering  of  Israel. 

7.  Give  the  substance  of  two  modern  predictions  relating  to  the 
Gathering. 

8.  What  does  the  Bonk  of  Mormon  say  in  regard  to  the  preaching 
ot  the  gospel  in  the  last  day  to  Israel? 

Lesson  36— Chapter  V— The  Author  to  the  Reader. 

1.  This  closing  chapter  of  "Gospel  Themes"  should  be  read  and 
re-read  many  times  by  every  young  man  holding  the  Priesthood. 

2.  Explain  the  significance  of  "The  first  branch  of  the  [sraelitish 
tree  to  bear  the  fruits  of  faith  and  obedience  in  modern  days." 

3.  Let  each  member  memorize  the  following,  and  keep  it  as  a 
motto  through  life:  "You  are  of  a  royal  race,  and  your  conduct  should 
be  royal  to  comport  with  it." 

4.  Define  arrogance;  insignia;  sordid. 

5.  What  are  the  responsibilities  resting  upon  the  Priesthood  of 
the  Latter-days? 

6.  Explain  the  figures  of  speech  used  in  the  last  paragraph. 

7.  Conclusion:  How  much  of  the  course  this  year  have  you 
made  your  own?  In  other  words,  how  much  of  your  study  in  "Gospel 
Themes"  have  you  applied  in  your  life  and  ministry? 

"To  him  who  knoweth  to  do  good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is 
sin." 

Instructions  to  Ward  Teachers.; — For  stake  authorities  of  the 
Church  to  prepare  subjects  at  different  times  for  the  teachers  in  the 
various  wards  of  the  stake,  is  an  idea  that  is  gaining  popularity  in  a 
number  of  stakes.  (See  Era,  Vol.  17,  pp.  992-3,  for  topics.)  For  ex- 
ample, in  the  Nebo  stake,  for  October,  1914,  the  following  acting 
teachers'  outlines  were  prepared,  printed  and  distributed  to  the  teach- 
ers in  the  various  wards  of  that  stake,  the  topic  for  the  month  being 
"The  M.  I.  A.:" 

Aim — As  given  by  President  Brigham  Young. 

1.  To  establish  a  testimony  of  the  gospel. 

2.  To  develop  the  talents  of  our  young  people. 

3.  To  cultivate  a  knowledge  of,  and  an  ability  to  apply  the  prin- 

ciples that  make  strong  manhood  and  womanhood. 

Purpose  in  the  Church. 

To  furnish  a  means  through  which  the  lives  of  our  young  people 
may  be  influenced  and  directed. 

a.  Socially — a  very  vital  force  in  influencing  any  young  character. 

1.  The  meeting  of  boys  with  boys,  and  girls  with  girls,  in  the 

working  out  of  a  common  purpose. 

2.  The  meeting  of  boys  and  girls  together  in  properly  super- 

vised and  conducted  socials. 

3.  The     socializing    force    of    contests    in    athletics,     debates, 

musical,  etc. 

4.  Boy  scout  activities. 

b.  Intellectually. 

1.  Reading  Course — The  establishment  of  the  habit  of  reading. 

2.  Manual  Study  and  Lesson  Giving. 

Senior  boys — Man  and  his  work. 
Junior  boys — Lessons  on  Conduct. 
3      Era — an  excellent  magazine  dealing  with  current  problems 
in    Church   affairs,   also  current   events. 


174 


MPR<  >VEMENT   ERA 


4.  Debates — Contests   in   argumentation. 

5.  Declamation — or   public   speaking  contests. 

6.  Story  Telling— Contests  and  practice. 

7.  Musical  Contests — 

Preliminary  exercises  fur  practice  in   music. 
Quartette  singing,  cborus  singing,  solo  singing. 

c.  Morally. 

1.  By  properly  conducted   socials,  dances,  etc. 

2.  By  social  talks  from  those  having  experience. 

3.  By  association  with  their  friends  under  proper  supervision 

and  under  the  Spirit'  of  the  Lord. 

d.  Physically. 

1.     Supervised  Athletics — 

Basketball  and  baseball. 

Group  games  and  plays  in  contests  between  associa- 
tions— chinning  contests,  jumping  contests,  etc. 

Outdoor  exercises  of  summer  camps,  Boy  Scout 
hiking  trips. 

e.  Spiritually. 

1.  Meetings  always  held  under  auspices  and  influence  of  the 

Church,  conducted  by  those  with  authority. 

2.  The  principles  of  the  gospel  are  taught  indirectly  by  influ- 

encing their  lives  along  the  lines  of  clean  living. 

3.  Gospel  talks  at  times  in  connection  with  other  activities. 

Ward  Teaching:  The  Presiding  Bishop's  office  bulletin  No.  13, 
issued  on  October  31,  1914,  gives  the  following  average  percentage  "of 
families  visited  by  ward  teachers,  in  all  the  stakes  of  Zion,  each  month, 
during  the  nine  months  ending  on  September  30,  1914: 


%  %  % 

Sept.  June  Mar. 

30  30  30 

1  Ogden    97  98  99  34 

2  Liberty    94  94  93  35 

3  Oneida    79  81  85  36 

4  Box  Elder    76  73  72  37 

5  Weber    76  76  76  38 

6  North   Weber    74  75  80  39 

7  Salt    Lake    74  79  78  40 

8  Ensign    72  .  57  60  41 

9  Bear    River    69  79  84  42 

10  Young     67  70  73  43 

11  Maricopa    59  59  57  44 

12  Davis    57  61  72  45 

13  Alberta     54  63  71  46 

14  North   Sanpete    ...  52  43  40  47 

15  Bear    Lake    48  48  59  48 

16  Big  Horn    48  64  69  49 

17  Fremont     48  51  57  50 

18  Uintah      46  53  *  51 

19  Snowflake     45  45  51  52 

20  Pioneer    43  46  42  53 

21  Cassia    43  49  53  54 

22  Nebo    42  47  53  55 

23  Summit     41  36  47  56 

24  Wasatch    41  36  66  57 

25  Taylor     40  46  63  58 

26  Boise     39  32  54  59 

27  Morgan      39  38  45  60 

28  Utah    39  47  59  61 

29  Yellowstone    39"  50  61  62 

30  Cache    37  42  47  63 

31  Granite     37  35  43  64 

32  Tordan    37  41  38  65 

S3     Tooele    37  38  44  66 


%  %  % 

Sept.  Tune  Mar. 

30  " 30  30 

Union    37  38  44 

Alpine     36  40  47 

Rlackfoot    36  48  50 

Malad      36  41  45 

South   Sanpete    ...  36  41  47 

Benson    34  46  51 

San   Luis    34  32  42 

Deseret     31  42  51 

St.  Joseph    31  42  51 

Moapa     29  34  50 

Wayne    29  38  68 

Bingham    28  24  41 

Bannock 27  34  38 

Hvrum    27  33  46 

Pocatello    27  32  * 

Emerv     26  29  23 

Carbon    25  31  38 

St.   Tohns    24  12  33 

Star  Valley    24  29  33 

Rigby     23  18  51 

San  Juan    23  27  35 

Millard     21  20  25 

Teton    21  21  * 

Shelley    20  **  ** 

Beaver    18  66  18 

Duchesne    18  32  42 

Sevier    18  24  42 

St.  George 14  33  45 

Woodruff    13  24  23 

Kanab     12  17  30 

Juab    11  36  40 

Parowan     S  10  14 

Panguitch     7  30  4U 


''Reports  arrived  too  late  to  be  included  in  classification. 


^take. 


Mutual  Work 


The  General  Improvement  Fund 


Envelopes  have  been  sent  out,  and  the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.  officers  arc 
a^kcd  to  secure  1(X)  per  cent  of  the  fund  by  voluntary  contributions. 
Where  this  is  not  possible,  officers  should  secure  the  balance  through 
entertainments.  The  office  is  under  hea\\  expense  in  keeping  two 
men  constantly  in  the  held,  and  the  good  work  these  men  are  doing 
justifies  the  Board  in  asking  the  full  amount  of  the  fund.  The  full  25c 
for  Scout  fees  is  now  required  by  and  forwarded  to  the  National  or 
ganization.  Hence,  Junior  members  who  have  paid  their  scout  fees 
since  Nov.  1,  should  also  contribute  25c  to  the  General  Improvement 
Fund.  

Boys'  Half-Acre  Contest 


The  committee  on  Vocations  and  Industries  of  the  General  Board 
have  decided  to  conduct  a  Boys'  Half  Acre  Contest  during  the  season 
of  1914-15.  The  same  general  policy  will  be  pursued  as  during  the 
season  1913-14,  and  details  of  the  contest  will  be  announced  later. 
This  early  notice  is  given  so  that  boys  who  wish  to  prepare  their  half 
acres  this  fall  may  do  so  now,  and  thus  be  ready  in  the  spring. 
The  prizes  to  be  awarded  will  not  be  less  than  those  offered  this  yeaf. 

The  committee  has  also  decided  to  conduct  a  City  Boys'  Industrial 
Contest  during  the  season  of  1914-15,  similar  to  the  one  conducted 
during  the  past  season,  in  which   quite  a  number  of  boys  took  part. 

For  Mutual  Workers 


Ward  presidents  should  check  up  the  work  in  organization,  mem- 
bership, class  study  and  manuals,  and  the  Era.  Start  earnestly  your 
vocation  work,  your  contests  and  M.  I.  A.  Day  preparations,  and  re- 
member December  is  M.  I.  A.  Fund  month. 

Organization. — Are  all  complete,  with  class  teachers,  committee-, 
and  officers?  If  not,  visit  the  associations  and  perfect  your  organi- 
zations. 

Membership. — Are  your  committees  at  work?  With  what  results? 
How  many  new  members  were  enrolled?  How  can  you  aid  by  new 
suggestions?" 

Class  Study  and  Manuals. — Look  into  the  methods  of  teaching. 
Have  the  students  enough  manuals?  Is  the  Junior  teacher  marking 
the  students?  Is  the  vocation  counselor  taking  part  in  the  Senior  class? 

Era. — Is  the  canvass  finished?  If  not'  let  it  be  completed  early 
this  month,  and  close  with  your  full  complement  of  subscribers. 

Contest  Work  and  M.  I.  A.  Day. — Prosecute  the  work  as  per  con- 
vention circular  and  Hand  Book,  page  49. 

Vocations  and  Industries. — Are  you  organized  with  a  counselor  in 
each  ward?  In  your  monthly  officers'  meetings,  have  a  special  division 
for  the  supervisors  and  counselors.  Look  after  them  in  your  weekly 
meetings. 

Leadership. — Are  vou  well  represented  in  the  Church  schools  for 
leadership?  Why?  Why  not?  They  are  in  progress.  Why  not  you 
be  up  with  the  times? 

M.  I.  A.  Fund.— Have  you  distributed  the  envelopes  and  collected 
the  full  amount?     What  is 'your  plan  for  getting  the  balance? 


'                1  fr-",-1- 

**• 

i 

s 

1 

f    »■  ■:'■ 

Br 

|MIAJ>! 

rVVv 

Y.  M.  AND  Y.  L.  M.  I.  A.  STAKE  AND  WARD  OFFICERS  OF  PIONEER 

STAKE 

These  officers  were  present  at  the  regular  monthly  officers'  meeting 
held  on  Sunday,  October  11,  1914.  The  Pioneer  stake  is  forging  ahead 
in  all  departments  of  Mutual  Improvement  work.  Notice  the  motto  in 
the   background:      "Success   comes   in   cans;   failures   in   can'ts;    we   can." 


Civic  Improvements 


These  pictures  were  taken  at  the  meetinghouse  grounds,  Hunts- 
ville,  Utah,  and  show  one  side  of  the  meetinghouse  as' it  was  before 
the  M.  I.  A.  boys  improved  the  grounds,  and  the  same  side  as  it 
appeared  with  flowers,  and  walks,  after  they  had  made  the  improve- 
ment. The  picture  of  the  improvement  was  taken  on  September 
20,    1914. 

The  M.  I.  A.  have  a  stake  committee  of  two,  one  young  man  and 
one  young  lady  who  head  the  work.  In  each  ward  a  like  committee 
was  formed.  The  stake  committee  decided  that  the  association  that 
could  show  the  greatest  improvement  to  the  grounds  around  the 
meetinghouses  in  the  Ogden  stake  would  get  the  first  prize.  Second 
prize,  the  association  that  would  grow  the  greatest  variety  of  flowers: 
third,  the  association  that  disposed  of  the  greatest  number  of  flowers, 
either  by  sale,  gift  to  the  sick,  or  use  for  ornaments  in  the  meeting- 
house or  otherwise;  fourth,  the  association  that  would  make  the  best 
exhibition  of  flowers  at  a  place  to  be  provided  in  Ogden.  The  stake 
committee  chose  the  kind  of  flowers  that  would  best  grow,  and  gave 
the  local  people  information  as  to  where  the  seeds  could  be  obtained, 
and  the  conditions  necessary  to  their  growth.  Members  of  the  M.  I. 
associations  were  to  do  all  the  work.  They  have  found  the  results 
most  satisfactory.  The  church  grounds  throughout  the  stake  were 
greatly  improved.  Large  numbers  of  flowers  and  plants  were  grown, 
and  many  disposed  of.  Many  people  caught  the  spirit  of  it  in  their 
homes,  and  in  their  public  buildings,  resulting  in  cleaner  and  more 
beautiful  premises.  "We  believe  that  this  work  has  come  to  stay  in 
the  Ogden  stake.  On  a  recent  Sunday,  at  our  stake  monthly  meet- 
ing,   the    Mutual    Improvement    people    were    told    bow    to    prepare 


MUTUAL  WORK 


177 


seed  beds,  the  kinds  of  bulbs  to  choose  and  how  to  plant  them,  etc. 
A  covered  garbage  can  will  also  be  installed  in  some  proper  place 
at  each  meetinghouse."  James  Gunn  McKay  is  the  stake  superin- 
tendent of  the  Y.   M.  M.  I.  A. 


HUNTSVILLE     MEETINGHOUSE    GROUNDS,     UNIMPROVED 


THE  GROUNDS   IMPROVED,   MEETINGHOUSE,    HUNTSVILLE 


Games 


The  M.  I.  A.  Normal  Course  Committee  name  this  list  of  games 
prepared  by  Coach  Joseph  R.  Jensen,  of  the  Brigham  Young  College 
ot  Logan,  and  kindly  furnished  by  him  for  use  in  the  schools  during 
the  six  weeks'  Normal  Course,  if  so  desired: 


17S 


I  M  I  ■  R  <  >VEM  ENT    ERA 


Games:  Swedish  Spat,  Partner's  Relay,  Three  Deep,  Partner's 
Tag,  Indian  Club  Tag,  Scrimmage  Ball  Relay,  Basket  Ball  Relay, 
Indian  Club  Relay,  Indian  Club  Basket  Relay,  Baste  the  Bear,  Po- 
tato Race,  Relay  Pursuit  Race,  Human  Race,  Fleet  Close  Games, 
Snatch  Close  Games,  Snatch  the  Handkerchief,  Standing  Toe  Wrestle, 
Up  and  Over  Relay,  Statue  Games,  Dodge  Ball,  Sculptor,  Shuttle 
Relays,  Prisoner's  Base,  Battering  Ram,  Leap  Frog  Relay,  Wheel 
Barrow  Race,  Tug  of  War,  Roaster  Fight,  Oat  Bag  Games,  Oat 
Bags,  Mat  Tossing,  Circle  Piling,  Stake  Guard,  Oat  Bags,  Poison, 
Schlag  Ball,  Long  Ball,  Sing  Ball,  Indoor  Base  Ball,  Play  Ground, 
Base-Ball,  Follow  My  Leader,  Indian  Club  Circle  Pull,  Obstacle  Race. 
Shut   the    Relays. 

These  games  can  be  found  in  the  following  books:  Jesse  Ban- 
croft's "Books  nn  Plays  and  Games,"  $1.50;  "Spalding's  Games,"  10c. 
Stecher's  "Plays  and  Games."  Mary  Johnson  on  "School  Games," 
"Play   and    Recreation,"   by    Henrv    Curtis. 


M.   I.  A.   NORMAL  CLASS,  CASTLE  DALE,  EMERY  STAKE  ACADEMY 

This   class   was   conducted   by   D*r.    John    H.    Taylor   and   Miss    Clarissa    A. 
Beesley,  of  the  General  Boards. 


Readers  of  the  Reading  Course 

The  following  members  of  our  organization  in  the  Pioneer  stake 
have  read  "Their  Yesterdays,"  one  of  the  books  of  our  Reading  Course: 

W.  O.  Harvey,  J.  A.  Hancock,  EI.  H.  Bardley,  W.  A.  Pettit,  Eli  Elia- 
son,  J.  R.  Pettit,  A.  J.  Sperry,  W.  L.  Coles,  E.  G.  Carlson,  D.  E.  Hammond, 
William  Cook,  William  Leary,  Jr.,  H.  Bernard  Tanner,  Robert  Sorensen, 
Orson  Carstensen,  Elmer  Anderson,  James  Hill,  R.  H.  Marchant,  W.  H. 
Kenitz,  P.  W.   Jones,   Thomas   Lambert,   Roy  Heath,   Joseph  A.   Kingdom 

The  following-  have  read  "The  Young-  Farmer:"  Parley  Nielsen. 
Norman  Nielsen,  John  Swenson,  Edward  Sorensen,  Alfred  Anderson, 
Lewis  Nielsen,  Prank  Anderson,  Robert  Kehl,  Douglas  Budd,  H.  Bernard 
Tanner,  A.  J.  Sperry,  D.  E.  Hammond,  Lorna  Keene,  Eli  Eliason. 

The  following  have  read   "Chester  Lawrence:"     H.   Bernard   Tanner, 


Ml    I  UAL   WoKK 


179 


it'iiiun    Hansen,    a.    .1.    Bperry,    E.   <;.    Carlson,    Andrew    Godwin,    Lome 

Keenc,   R.  H.  Marchant,  Amos  Jenkins,  W.  A.  Pettlt,  Eli  Eliason. 

The  following  have  read  "The  Story  and  Philosophy  of  Mormonism:" 
T.  liernard  Tanner,  Robert  Sorensen,  A.  J.  Sperry,  William  Leary,  Jr., 
Louis  Fetzer,  R.  H.  Marchant,  W.  H.  Kenitz,  F.  W.  Jones,  Thomas  Lam- 
1,1  it,  Chester  Knight,  Joseph  A.  Kingdon,  W.  O.  Harvey,  J.  A.  Hancock, 
Oeorge  Woodbury,  W.  A.  Pettit,  Eli  Eliason,  C.   A.  Carlquist. 

I'll.-  following  have  read  "The  Fair  God:"  A.  J.  Sperry,  D.  E.  Ham- 
mond,   William    Lttary,   Jr.,   Nephl   MacLachlan,    W.   A.    Pettit.    Ell    Eliason. 

Edgar   Jensen    has   read    "From    Cattle    Ranch    to   College." 


The  Rexburg  M.  T.  A.  Normal  Course  Class,  November  2,  3,  and  4. 
consisted  of  40  young  men  and  80  young  ladies.  Oscar  A.  Kirkham 
writes,  "We  finished  at  Rexburg  in  a  blaze  of  glory  with  a  grand  ball." 
President  Mark  Austin  was  very  enthusiastic  over  the  work,  and  gave 
the  General  Board  members  the  time  of  the  monthly  Priesthood  meet- 
ing to  introduce  their  work  to  the  Priesthood." 


The  M.  T.  A.  Normal  Class,  Cardston,  Alberta,  Canada,  October 
15,  16,  and  17.  The  M.  I.  A.  work  here  for  leadership  was  charac- 
terized by  a  good  spirit,  and  good  attendance.  We  look  for  good  re- 
sults to  follow.  Canada  stands  at  the  front  as  one  of  the  enthusiastic 
stakes  of  Zion  in  this  matter  of  leadership.  "For  fine,  healthy  amuse- 
ment and  instruction,  these  three  days  cannot  be  surpassed.  The 
benefit  is  inestimable,"  says  the  "Globe." 


180  IMPROVEMENT    ERA 


New  Order  for  Scout  Fees 


Last  season,  the  twenty-five  cents  paid  by  the  junior  members  of 
the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.,  was  counted  both  as  the  M.  I.  A.  Fund  and  the 
scout  fee.  (See  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.  Hand  Book,  p.  35).  This  was  made 
possible  because  the  National  Organization  of  the  Boy  Scouts  of 
America,  divided  the  twenty-five  cents  with  our  organization.  The 
amount  received  by  the  National  Organization  has  proved  insufficient 
for  the  development  and  support  of  their  work.  On  October  1,  1914, 
the  plan  was  changed,  and  the  National  Organization  now  asks  for 
the  full  twenty-five  cents.  Since  the  registered  scout  receives  the 
full  benefit  of  this  fee,  the  General  Board  has  decided  that  it  must  be 
paid  independently  of  the  M.  I.  A.  Fund,  which  is  required,  in  addition, 
for    the    work    of    our    associations. 

Scouts  who  paid  their  twenty-five  cent  M.  I.  A.  fund  before 
November  1,  1914,  will  be  considered  as  having  also  paid  their 
scout  fee,  as  in  the  past;  but  after  that  date,  scouts  will  be  asked 
to  pay  their  scout  fee  of  twenty-five  cents  for  registration  with  the 
National  Organization  as  well  as  their  M.  I.  A.  Fund  of  twenty-five 
cents. 

The  minimum  registration  fee  of  $3  is  required  from  each  troop, 
even  though  there  are  fewer  than  twelve  boys  enrolled.  However,  when 
there  are  fewer  than  twelve  boys  enrolled,  additional  boys  may  be 
registered  at  any  time  within  one  year  from  the  date  of  registra- 
tion, up  to  twelve  boys,  without  the  payment  of  additional  dues.  If 
there  are  more  than  twelve  boys,  twenty-five  cents  additional  to  the 
$3  must  be  paid  for  each  boy  to  be  enrolled. 

Please  notify  your  stake  and  ward  officers  of  this  change,  so 
that  they  can  adjust  themselves  at  once  to  this  new  order  of  handling 
the  scout  fee. 


Some  Suggestions  on  How  to  Canvass  for  the  Era 

In  one  of  the  northern  stakes,  as  in  many  other  stakes,  the  Young 
Men's  Mutual  Improvement  Association  officers  have  taken  hold  of 
the  Era  canvass  in  earnest,  and  as  helps  have  sent  to  each  of  their 
ward  agents  the  following  or  similar  instructions: 

1.  Co-operate  with  the  Priesthood  in  your  ward  and  get  the 
bishop  to  appoint  an  assistant  to  work  with  you. 

2.  Organize  your  forces  and  begin  immediately  to  get  the  5%, 
which  should  be  secured  in  the  month  of  October,  or  early  November. 

3.  Renew  the  old  subscribers  first. 

4.  Call  upon  all  the  ward  officers  and  teachers  beginning  with  the 
bishopric. 

5.  Canvass  the  ward  thoroughly  so  that  every  home  may  have  the 
opportunity  of  subscribing. 

6.  Report  your  progress  every  week  to  ,  the  stake  officer 

having  the  Era  in  charge;  reports  of  the  progress  of  each  ward  will 
be  made  by  him  to  all  the  wards  in  the  stake. 

The  instructions  are  still  applicable  to  those  stakes  and  wards 
that  are  behind  with  the  canvass.     Clear  it  all  up  before  January  1. 


Passing  Events 

Zebulon  Jacobs,  a  pioneer  <>f  Utah  and  a  veteran  of  the  Black 
Hawk  Indian  war,  died  September  22,  in  Salt  Lake  City,  seventy-two 
years  of  age.  He  came  to  Utah  when  six  years  of  age  with  his  mother, 
Zina  Young. 

The  inscription  stone  for  the  Canadian  temple  was  unloaded,  Sep- 
tember 23,  according  to  a  Canadian  exchange.  The  stone  weighed  six 
and  a  half  tons,  and  was  nineteen  and  a  half  feet  long  by  three  and  a 
half  feet  in  width. 

The  Philadelphia  Athletics  were  defeated  in  four  straight  ball 
games  with  the  Boston  Braves  in  the  world's  series  campaign  of  1914, 
the  final  game  being  played  at  Fenway  Park,  Boston,  October  13.  It 
is  the  first  time  a  world's  series  has  been  won  in  four  straight  games. 

A  great  dam  on  the  Jordan  river  is  to  be  built  by  the  Salt  Lake 
County  Associated  Canal  Companies.  Recently  twenty  men  and  a 
dozen  teams  began  work  on  the  big  dam  and  weirs  which  will  be  built 
in  the  Jordan  river  in  the  narrows  at  the  head  of  the  Utah,  Salt  Lake 
and  East  Jordan  canals.  It  is  stated  that  the  main  dam  will  be  a 
hundred  feet  long,  and  nineteen  feet  high,  to  be  built  of  solid  concrete. 

The  Utah  potato  crop  this  year,  it  is  said  by  prominent  experts  of 
the  State  Agricultural  College,  is  badly  infected  by  disease.  The 
loss  to  the  farmers,  as  a  result,  will  aggregate  over  a  million  dollars. 
Fields  which  under  normal  conditions  would  yield  four  hundred  bushels 
to  the  acre,  did  not  produce  more  than  one-half  this  amount  this 
year,  and  other  fields  did  not  yield  the  seed  planted  last  spring. 

The  War  revenue  bill  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  Octo- 
ber 22.  There  was  an  immediate  desire  for  adjournment,  but  southern 
Congressmen  wished  to  pass  legislation  for  the  relief  of  the  cotton 
situation,  and  refused  to  permit  adjournment  until  promise  was  made 
that  there  shall  be  early  consideration  of  legislation  on  this  subject  at 
the  next  session  of  Congress,  in  December.  The  Congress  just  closed 
was  the  longest  in  the  history  of  our  country,  it  having  been  called 
in  special  session  on  the  inauguration  of  President  Wilson,  and  con- 
tinued uninterruptedly  for  567  days. 

The  University  of  Utah  Administration  building,  completed  last 
March  at  a  cost  of  $500,000,  was  dedicated  October  8.  Students  and 
visitors  formed  a  procession  in  front  of  the  building  and  later  attended 
the  exercises  in  the  men's  gymnasium.  Hon.  W.  W.  Riter  chairman 
of  the  Board  of  Regents,  presided.  The  dedicatory  prayer  was  offered 
by  President  Anthon  H.  Lund.  State  Senator  W.  N.  Williams  and 
Governor  William  Spry  gave  addresses,  and  the  benediction  was 
offered  by  Herbert  Ware  Reherd,  of  Westminster  College.  Music 
was  furnished  by  the  university  male  quartet,  choir  and  orchestra. 

The  Utah  State  Fair,  1914,  was  largely  attended,  and  while  the 
weather  on  the  date  of  opening,  October  3,  was  stormy,  and  also  dur- 
ing the  nights  of  some  of  the  other  dates,  on  the  whole  it  was  not  so 
bad  but  that  large  crowds  were  able  to  be  present.     Miss  Ivy  Erick- 


184 


IMPROVEMENT   ERA 


to  grow  on  the  upturned  earth,  so  long  had  they  been  occupied.  In 
other  parts  of  the  great  battle  line  the  situation  remained  much  the 
same  up  to  the  12th  of  November  as  for  several  weeks  past.  There 
was  severe  fighting  all  along  the  line  with  little  change  in  the  situa- 
tion. In  the  east,  however,  the  Germans  appear  to  have  been  repulsed. 
The  Japanese  cruiser  "Takichico"  was  torpedoed  by  a  German  de- 
stroyer S-90.     Only  12  men  out  of  456  were  saved. 

October  17. — A  British  cruiser  sinks  four  German  torpedo  boat 
destroyers  on  the  Dutch  coast;  of  the  four  crews,  197  men  were  lost, 
and  31  taken  prisoners  by  the  British. 

October  20. — A  revolutionary  rising  in  Portugal  was  quelled. 

October  22. — The  Boer  rebels  in  South  Africa  were  defeated. 

October  23. — Desperate  but  indecisive  fighting  continues  on  the 
Belgium  border  near  the  coast,  British  ships  taking  part  in  shelling  the 
German  entrenchments. 

October  25. — Germans  cross  the  Yser,  between  Dixmude  and 
Nieuport. 


THE  REMAINS  OF  THE  LITTLE  VILLAGE  OF  VILLERS-AUX-VENTS  WHERE 
THE  GERMAN  CROWN  PRINCE  STAYED 

October  26. — The  Austrians  and  Russians  continue  the  combat 
along  San  River  in  Galicia.  Bloody  battles  continue  in  FlandeYs  with 
no  aoparent  result.    The  Germans  were  driven  back  over  the  Yser. 

October  27. — The  trial  of  Prinzip,  who  assassinated  Franz  Fer- 
dinand, June  28,  came  to  an  end  in  Sarajevo.  He  and  23  of  his  accom- 
plices were  found  guilty  of  treason. 

The  British  superdreadnought  "Audacious"  was  either  struck  by  a 
torpedo,  or  disabled  by  a  mine  and  sunk  on  the  north  coast  of  Ireland. 
It  was  one  of  the  greatest  battleships  in  the  British  navy,  and  when 
it  sank  $12,500,000  went  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  The  "Olympic" 
on  her  way  from  New  York  to  Glasgow,  passing  ten  miles  away,  and 
carrying  300  passengers,  caught  the  wireless  cry  for  help,  and  laid  to 
and  rescued  the  800  officers  and  men  from  the  battleship. 

October  28. — The  Russians  defeated  the  Germans  on  the  Plitza  in 
Poland,  and  pursued  them  south;  they  continued  to  retreat  beginning 
October  16  and  finally  leaving  Warsaw  on  the  31st,  their  retreat  being 
almost  a  rout.  The  Russians  took  17  officers  and  4,000  men  between 
October  22  and  25,  11  machine  guns  and  22  cannon. 


PASSIM.   LVLN  I'S 


115 


October  29. — The  Russians  defeat  the  Austrians  at  Tarlow,  Poland. 
Crimean  ports  were  attacked  by  Turkish  warships.  The  Germans  re- 
port having  captured  on  the  east  Prussian  frontier  during  the  last 
three  weeks  of  October  13,500  Russians,  30  cannon,  and  39  machine 
guns. 

October  30. — The  reason  assigned  for  the  Turks  entering  the  war 
is  that  the  Russians  were  discovered  laying  mines  in  the  Bosphorus. 
The  Boer  rebellion,  under  Col.  Maritz,  was  defeated,  but  Gens.  Chris- 
tian De  Wet  and  Byers,  both  of  Boer  War  fame,  took  up  the  light, 
and  Premier  Botha  has  taken  the  field  in  person  against  them. 

October  31. — The  Italian  cabinet  resign  over  the  war  question. 

November  1. — The  Tsing-tao  forts  at  Kiao-chau  were  bombarded 
by  the  Japanese  and  British.  It  is  announced  that  the  campaign  of 
the  Turks  will  probably  be  directed  towards  Egypt. 

November  2. — Last  night  at  6:30  a  German  fleet  of  five  ships  in  the 
Pacific  near  Caronel,  Chile,  under  Admiral  Count  Von  Spree  met  a 
British  squadron  of  four  ships  under  Admiral  Sir  Christopher  Cradock. 
The  British  were  defeated,  rosing  probably  two  ships,  "Good  Hope" 
and  "Monmouth,"  with  all  on  board.  Russians  and  Turks  are  fighting 
in  Armenia. 

November  3. — British  ships  bombard  the  Dardanelles,  and  Ger- 
man ships  are  reported  near  Yarmouth. 

November  4. — Germans  lose  Mlawa,  Russian  Poland,  and  Russian 
troops  invade  Turkish  Armenia.  Turkish  cruisers  bombard  Batum, 
Black  sea. 

November  5. — Great  Britain  and  France  declare  war  on  Turkey, 
and  Britain  annexes  Cyprus,  in  the  Mediterranean. 

November  6. — The  righting  about  Ypres,  Belgium,  continues  inde- 
cisive, except  in  the  loss  of  life  and  in  destruction  of  churches,  farm^ 
and  factories,  and  strong  young  men  from  all  parts  of  the  world  "whose 
bodies  clog  the  canals  and  lie  unburied  on  the  beet  fields." 


A   SCENE  l\  THE  SORELY  BATTERED  CTTY  OF  ANTWERP 


186 


IMPROVEMENT   ERA 


November  7. — Tsing-tao,  the  German  port  in  China,  surrenders  to 
the  Japanese  and  British.  The  British  take  the  Turkish  port  of  Tao, 
at  the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf. 

November  8. — The  Russians  invade  Germany  from  Poland.  There 
is  a  battle  again  on  the  Aisne,  in  which  it  is  said  the  Allies  gained 
ground. 

November  9. — It  is  reported  that  in  Selicia,  in  East  Prussia,  and 
in  Alsace  the  Allied  forces  now  occupy  German  soil.  Large  numbers 
of  German  troops  are  withdrawn  from  the  Yser. 

November  10. — The  "Emden"  and  the  "Koenigsberg,"  two  famous 
German  cruisers,  have  been  lost  to  the  Germans.  The  "Emden"  had 
been  the  terror  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  had  destroyed  26  ships  of 
the  Allies,  valued  at  $4,000,000.  The  "Emden"  was  destroyed  by  the 
Australian  cruiser  "Sydney"  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  The  "Sydney"  set 
fire  to  "Emden"  which  was  run  onto  the  beach  and  burned.  The 
"Koenigsberg,"  which  disabled  the  British  cruiser  "Pegasus"  some 
weeks  ago,  was  caught  at  Mafia  Island.  The  channel  to  the  harbor 
was  blockaded  preventing  any  chance  of  exit. 

Tsing-tao,  the  German  seaport  stronghold  in  China,  and  the  com- 
mercial rival  of  Hong  Kong,  was  unconditionally  handed  over  to  Japan. 
The  fortress  surrendered  November  7,  after  a  siege  which  lasted  65 
clays.     It   is   the   first   fortress   taken   by  the   Allies.     The   territory '  of 


London  Daily  Sketch 
THE  COUNTRYSIDE  AT  LUNEVILLE,  NORTHERN  FRANCE 
It  is  a  landscape  of  charred  farmhouses,  burned  and  battered  in  the  war. 


Kiao-chau,  comprising  193  square  miles,  was  leased  to  Germany  by 
China  for  99  years,  in  1898,  as  compensation  for  the  murder  of  two 
German  missionaries,  and  they  had  spent  $100,000,000  on  the  territory. 
France,  Russia  and  Great  Britain  secured  similar  concessions  from 
China,  at  the  time. 

November  11. — Dixmude  is  occupied  by  the  Germans,  after  defeat- 
ing the  Allies  in  a  furious  engagement.  The  deadly  struggle  in  Belgium 
overshadows  the  many  other  conflicts  on  the  fields  of  battle. 

November  12. — The  Germans  are  again  pushing  towards  Calais. 
The  Austrian  main  army  retreats  before  the  Russians  in  Galicia. 

November  13. — A  French  torpedo  boat  sinks  a  German  submarine 
oft'  Westende,  Belgium;  the  German  fleet  is  reported  getting  ready  to 
leave  the  Kiel  canal.  Along  the  Yser  the  fighting  continues  with  un- 
abated fierceness.  The  Turks  are  reported  as  having  begun  fighting 
in  Egypt. 


PASSING  EVENTS  187 

November  14. — The  Russians  continue  their  advance  in  East 
Prussia  about  Rypin. 

Lord  Earl  Roberts,  England's  great  soldier,  Field  Marshal  of  the 
British  Army,  died  of  penumonia,  in  France.  He  had  gone  to  France 
to  give  the  Indian  troops  his  greeting,  of  whom  lie  was  colonel  in  chief. 
lit  was  born  in  Cowscore,  India,  Sept.  30,  1832,  and  was  resident  in 
that  country  40  years.  He  predicted  the  present  war,  Oct.  22,  1912,  in 
a  speech  he  made  at  Manchester,  for  which  he  was  severely  criticized 
at  the  time. 

The  November  election  in  Utah  resulted  in  a  partial  victory  for  the 
Republicans  who  chose  the  national  and  state  tickets  by  small  plurali- 
ties, in  a  very  closely  contested  election.  The  following  shows  the 
results  on  national  and  state  ticket: 

For  United  States  Senator. 

Reed  Smoot   (R)    49,562 

J.  H.  Moyle  (D  and  P) 46,835 

Smoot's  plurality   2,727 

For  Congress,  First  District. 

Joseph    Howell    (R) 23,070 

Lewis  Larson  (D  and  P) 21,012 

Howell's  plurality    2,058 

For  Congress,  Second  District. 

E.  O.  Leatherwood   (R) 25,348 

J.  H.  Mays  (D  and  P) 25,499 

Mays'  plurality  151 

For  Justice  Supreme  Court. 

William  M.  McCarty  (R) 48,177 

Frank  B.  Stephens  (D  and  P) 46,285 

McCarty's    plurality    1,892 

For  State  Superintendent  Public  Instruction. 

A.  C.  Matheson  (R) 45,588 

E.  G.  Gowans  (D  and  P) 49,100 

Gowans'   plurality    3,512 

The  Democrats  and  Progressives  made  heavy  gains  in  the  Legis- 
lature. The  Republicans  will  have  a  majority  of  two  in  the  House, 
and  in  the  Senate,  owing  to  holdovers,  about  the  same.  Salt  Lake 
county  went  Democratic-Progressive  by  a  large  majority,  which  will 
take  the  county  government  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Republicans,  and 
leave  the  county,   Democratic  in  the  legislature. 

The  November  election  resulted  in  a  loss  of  nearly  60  seats  in  the 
National  House  of  Representatives,  for  the  Democrats,  who  have  now 
a  majority  of  141,  but  who  will  only  have  23  or  24  in  the  next  Con- 
giess.  The  Progressives  mostly  returned  to  the  Republican  party. 
Their  vote  in  New  York  was  reduced  from  393,000  to  less  than  50,000. 
In  the  Senate,  the  Democrats  show  gains,  their  present  majority  of  ten 
being  increased  to  14  or  15.  "Uncle"  Jos.  Cannon,  formerly  speaker  of 
the  House,  will  return  for  his  20th  term. 

State-wide  prohibition  was  an  issue  in  six  states,  being  rejected 
in  Ohio  and  California,  but  adopted  in  Washington,  Arizona,  Oregon, 
and  Colorado.  There  are  now  fourteen  "dry"  states — Arizona,  Colo- 
rado, Georgia,  Kansas,  Maine,  Mississippi,  North  Carolina,  North 
Dakota,  Oklahoma.  Oregon,  Tennessee,  Virginia  Washington,  and 
West  Virginia. 

Woman  suffrage  was  adopted  in  Montana  and  Nevada,  and  re- 
jected in  Missouri,  Nebraska,  Ohio  and  North  and  South  Dakota.  In 
the  United  States,  there  are  now  twelve  suffrage  states,  with  an  aggre- 


188  IMPROVEMENT   ERA 

gate  of  91  electoral  votes.  These  states  are  Arizona,  California,  Colo- 
rado, Idaho,  Illinois,  Kansas,  Montana,  Nevada,  Oregon,  Utah,  Wash- 
ington,  and   Wyoming. 

Commission  government  was  adopted  in  Buffalo  which  has  a  pop- 
ulation of  upwards  of  half  a  million  people;  and  California  prohibited 
prize-fighting  and,  with  Washington,  voted  against  an  eight-hour  day. 

Mexico. — The  Agua  Calientes  convention  of  military  leaders,  or- 
ganized October  10,  with  General  Villareal,  chairman,  was  pledged  the 
support  of  General  Villa  on  October  17,  who  will  agree  to  any  pro- 
visional president  except  Carranza.  On  October  26,  28  delegates  rep- 
resenting General  Zapata  joined  the  convention.  The  convention  de- 
clared itself  the  supreme  power  in  Mexico,  and  General  Caranza  dis- 
puted its  title  to  that  distinction,  and  also  objected  to  the  convention's 
agreement  to  the  conditions  imposed  on  Mexico  by  the  United  States 
as  guarantees  for  the  evacuation  of  Vera  Cruz.  Hostilities  in  the 
north  continued  regardless  of  the  convention's  order  for  an  armistice. 
It  was  discovered  that  Zapata's  representatives  were  allies  of  General 
Villa,  and  their  determination  to  give  to  the  "common"  people  by  con- 


GENERAL  VILLA  AND  U.  S.  AGENT  CARROTHERS 
fiscation  the  great  landed  estates  could  not  be  accepted  by  Caranza, 
and  he  sent  a  message  severely  attacking  Villa.  Carranza  does  not 
agree  to  the  conditions  required  by  the  United  States  for  the  with- 
drawal of  troops  from  Vera  Cruz,  but  is  emphatic  in  his  request  to 
have  them  withdrawn.  The  convention  ordered  Carranza  to  gvie  up 
his  office,  and  Villa  to  resign  as  commander  of  the  division  of  the 
north.  On  November  16,  it  appointed  Eulalio  Gutierrez  provisional 
president,  and  assumed  the  power  of  a  congress.  Carranza  declined  to 
obey,  declaring  Villa  dominated  the  congress.  Villa  then  took  pos- 
session of  the  city  for  the  protection  of  the  delegates,  and  approved 
of  their  orders.  An  ultimatum  was  sent  to  Carranza,  demanding  he 
should  answer  by  the  10th.  He  replied  he  would  "fight  to  the  death." 
He  then  moved  the  seat  of  government  from  Mexico  City  to  Puebla. 
He  was  declared  in  rebellion  by  the  convention.  On  the  12th,  Villa 
at  the-  head  of  his  troops  marched  south  to  give  battle  to  Gonzales, 
commanding  Carranza's  troops,  as  ordered  by  the  convention.  He  was 
accompanied  by  George  C.  Carrothers,  American  consular  agent. 


PASSING   K VENTS 


189 


Bishop  Albert  Douglas  Dickson,  recently  honorably  released  from 
his  services  as  bishop  of  the  Richville  ward,  Morgan  county,  has  de- 
voted long  years  of  his  life  to  this  service,  having  been  in  the  bish- 
opric since  the  first  of  July,  1877,  when  the  Morgan  stake  was  organ- 
ized.    At   this   time   he   was   chosen   bishop   of  the   Richville   ward    by 

Apostle  Franklin  D.  Richards  and  has 
held   the  office  ever  since. 

I ' i -hop  Dickson  was  the  son  of 
Rilla  Dickson  and  Mary  Ann  Stod- 
dard, and  was  born  in  Porter  county, 
Indiana,  January  26,  1840.  He  was 
the  oldest  among  four  boys  and  two 
girls.  With  his  parents  and  their 
family  he  emigrated  to  Utah  and  set- 
tled in  Kaysville,  Davis  county,  in  the 
early  50's.  He  served  in  the  Echo 
canyon  war  under  the  leadership  of 
Captain  Lot  Smith.  He  made  five 
trips  over  the  plains  as  teamster,  put- 
ting up  with  all  the  inconveniences 
a  id  hardships  of  these  early  time-.  He 
went  to  Morgan  county  with  his 
parents  and  their  family  in  the  early 
60's  where  he  labored  as  a  pioneer  in 
the  development  of  that  country.  He 
has  been  an  exemplary  man  to  the 
people  of  his  ward  and  his  admoni- 
tions to  them  have  always  been  that 
they  lead  pure,  clean  and  noble  lives. 
As  a  bishop  he  gained  the  respect  of 
all  his  members  and  particularly  the 
young  people.  He  was  not  only  a 
peacemaker  to  his  own  ward  but  was 
often  called  upon  to  settle  difficulties  in  other  places.  He  leaves  the 
office  with  the  best  wishes  of  all  the  people. 

The  new  banking  system  of  the  United  States,  setting  in  motion 
twelve  federal  reserve  banks,  went  into  operation  on  November  16. 
The  nation's  new  currency  system  was  set  in  motion  by  the  opening  of 
these  regional  banks.  Paul  M.  Warburg,  of  the  Board,  declared  that 
Nov.  16  might  be  considered  the  4th  of  July  in  the  economic  life  of  the 
United  States.  These  banks  are  located  in  New  York,  Boston,  Phila- 
delphia, Cleveland,  Chicago,  Minneapolis,  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City, 
Atlanta,  Richmond,  Dallas,  and  San  Francisco. 

Sugar  beet  payments  were  made  to  farmers  in  eleven  cities  in 
Utah  and  Idaho,  on  November  14-16,  amounting  to  $2,860,500.  In 
October,  $500,000  was  disbursed,  and  the  final  payment  for  beets  on 
December  15  will  approximate  $700,000  more,  making  the  grand  total 
paid  farmers  for  beets  during  the  season  something  over  four  million 
dollars.  This  means  that  about  800,000  tons  of  beets  have  been  grown 
in  the  two  states  for  the  Utah-Idaho,  the  Amalgamated,  and  the  Lew- 
iston  sugar  companies,  which  breaks  all  former  records. 

The  city  of  Ghent,  was  the  first  city  to  be  occupied  by  the  Ger- 
mans after  the  fall  of  Antwerp.  The  last  war  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States  was  closed,  by  treaty,  in  Ghent,  Dec.  24,  1814.  It 
was  intended  that  the  one  hundred  years  of  peace  between  these  nations 
should  be  celebrated  in  Ghentf  this  Christmas,  but  the  plan  is  now 
likely  to  be  abandoned. 


Hi  ' 

ml  ' 

"Jt^k       ^HK 

II"" 

^8 

k               3Li 

George  D.  Parkinson,  Auorney-ut  Law,  Newhotise  Building,  Salt  Lake 
City.    Telephone  Was.  601.   -Adv. 

Owing  to  the  unprecedented  call  for  the  Junior  Manuals  for  this  year,  and  to 
enable  us  to  supply  those  who  have  not  yet  received  enough,  officers  who  have- 
any  unsold  on  hand  are  requested  to  return  them  immediately.  Please  be 
prompt,  so  that  the  associations  having  none  may  be  supplied.  I  \t  i-kuvemi-xt, 
Era,  Salt  Lake  City. 

Readers  of  the  Era  will  find  a  feast  of  good  reading  in  the  following  papers, 
soon  to  appear:  "Wonderful  Development  of  Bacteriology,"  by  J.  H.  Greaves, 
Ph.  D. ;  "Origin  of  the  South  Sea  Islander,"  by  John  Q.  Adams;  "The  Prophet 
Joseph's  Last  Letters,"  by  B.  F.  Cummings;  "The  Miser,"  a  story  by  Elsie 
C.  Carroll,  and,  "Cast  Thy  Bread,"  by  the  same  author;  "The  Boys  and  the 
Farm,"  by  Hon.  Thos.  L.  Rubey,  of  Misosuri;  "Life  in  a  Tree  Trunk,"  by  D.  W. 
Parratt;  "Navajo  Marriage  Customs,"  by  Joseph  F.  Anderson;  "Alcohol — Its 
Effects  on  the  Human  Body,"  by  Dr.  W.  B.  Parkinson;  "Nauvoo  in  1846," 
a  rare  selection  from  a  rare  book,  "A  Summer  in  the  Wilderness,"  by  Charles 
Lanman,  once  private  secretary  to  Daniel  Webster,  contributed  by  H.  C.  Dale, 
St.  Louis;  "The  Price  to  Pay,"  a  story  by  D.  W.  Cummings;  and  a  long  list  of 
other  bright  and  valuable  contributions,  besides  the  regular  departments,  and 
continued  articles.  Subscribe  now.  It  may  be  too  late  to  get  the  first  number 
next  month. 

I  mprovement  Era,  December,  1914 

Two  Dollars  per  Annum  with  Manual  Free 
Entered  at  the  Post  Office,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  as  second  class  matter. 


Joseph  F.  Smith,  \  gci:tofs   Heber  J.  Grant,  Business  Manager 

Edward  H.  Anderson,     f  3  Moroni  Snow,  Assistant 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Portrait  of  Ephraim  K.  Hanks Frontispiece 

Aliens.    A  Poem Grace  Ingles  Frost 95 

The  Breaking  of  Law — An  Instance Dr.  Frederick  J.  Pack 97 

A  King  of  Western  Scouts — I.     Illustrated.  .  .  .Solomon  F.  Kimball 103 

A  Mountain  Thunderstorm.     A  Poem B.  F.  Cummings Ill 

The  Navajo  Indians.     Illustrated J.  F.  Anderson  112 

Anthony  L.  Skanchy  I — II Dr.  John  A.  Widtsoe 119 

The  Evolution  Hypothesis  and  the  Geological 

Record    Robert  C.  Webb 127 

The  Teacher   Alfred  Lambourne 135 

Hebrew  Idioms  and  Analogies  in  the  Book  of 

Mormon   Thcmas  W.  Brookbank ....  136 

A  Righteous  Woman's  Recompense — V Leila  Marler  Hoggan 144 

The  Lamb  of  God.    A  Poem Orson  F.  Whitney 148 

God's   Kingdom    Grace  Zenor-Robertson  ....  150 

Autumn.     A  Poem Ina    151 

Jesus  of  Nazareth   Prof.  J.  C.  Hogenson 152 

Christmas  Bells.    A  Poem Lydia  D.  Alder 154 

A  Reversal  Louis  W.  Larsen 155 

The  Way  of  Sin.    A  Poem Grace  Ingles  Frost  156 

Sunset  on  the  Jungf ran Lydia  D.  Alder 1 57 

The  Star  of  Bethlehem.     A  Poem Maud  Baggarley    1 58 

The  Man  at  the  Helm.    A  Poem Elsie  C.  Carroll   159 

Editors'  Table— Our  Battle— to  Conquer  Evil.  .Prest.  Joseph  F.  Smith 160 

Christ  the  King Prest.  Charles  W.  Penrose .  .  162 

Drunkenness  in  Russia 163 

Motherhood   165 

Messages  from  the  Missions 165 

Priesthood    Quorums'  Table 171 

Mutual  Work   174 

Passing  Events 180 


Christmas  Gifts 

mean  "Jewelry  Gifts"  from 

All  the  newest  and  latest  in 
La  Valliers,  Rings,  Cameo 
Brooches,  Watches,  Silver- 
ware, Cut  Glass,  Etc. 

Dependable     goods     and     at 
prices  you  want  to  pay. 

J.  S.  Jensen  &  Sons 

THE  GIFT   STORE 

Established  1875  71  MAIN  ST. 


RBMINGTON  AUTOLOADING  RIFLE— ONB   OF  BROWNING'S  PATBNT8 

Send  for  our  Catalogue- 150  Pages,  Illustrated.  FREE 

In  it  you  -will  find  described  the  above  Rifle  together 

with  all  other  standard  makes  of  firearms. 


BROWNING    BROS.    CO.. 


OGDEN. 
UTAH. 


'A  BLESSED  COMPANION  IS  A  BOOK-A  BOOK  THAT  FITLY 
CHOSEN  IS  A  LIFE  LONG  FRIEND"-JerroId. 


CHOSEN  IS  A  LIFE  LONG  FRIEND"-JerroId. 

Give  your  boy,  your  father,  your  friend 
a  fitly  chosen  Book  for  Christmas 

Let  us   suggest  a  few:  by  mail 

Uncle  Nick  Among  the  Shoshones $1.35 

The   Bishop's    Shadow 1.25 

The   Young   Farmer 1.10 

Their  Yesterdays   60 

In  Dainty  Ooze  leather  hinding  the  following: 

BY   MAIL 

The  Greatest  Thing  in  the  World 75 

Sweetness  and  Light — Arnold 75 

Where  Love  is,  There  is  God  Also — Tolstoi     .75 

As  a  Man  Thinketh— Allen 75 

Culture — Emerson    75 


These  and  scores  of  others  at  the 

Deseret  Sunday  ScllOOl  UnJOIl  Book  Store 

UU  East  South  Temple        Salt  Lake  Gity 


WHEN    WRITING  10  ADVERTISERS.  PLEASE  MENTION  THE   IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Save  Money 

on  Your 
Xmas  Piano 

Freight  prepaid  to  your  railroad 

station.      Stool  and 

Scarf  Free. 

Any  Piano- $10  Cash  and  $5  a  Month 


WEILER— Three  pedal,  full 
scale,  full  size  upright,  mahog- 
any case.  Modern  in  every  way. 
Used,  but  in  fine  condition.  A 
very  popular  style.  Somebody 
will  get  a  bargain  when  they  buy 
this    piano   at   only $167 

SCHAEFFER— Three  pedal, 
full  scale,  full  size  upright;  dark 
oak  case.  Ought  to  bring  $300 
but  we  offer  it  now,  on  account 
of  being  slightly  used,  at  the  low 
price   of   only $248 


MARSHALL— A  $350  piano,  of 
modern  design,  full  size  and  full 
scale,  used  but  in  fine  playing 
condition,  is  here  offered  you  for 

only    $168 

A  $350  KOLER  &  CAMPBELL 
piano,  practically  brand  new, 
smply  used  about  30  days  as  an 
exhibition  piano,  is  here  offered 

you  for  only $259 

Cannot  be  told  from  brand  new. 

OLDER  THAN  THE  STATEOT  UTAH 


LIFE  INSURANCE 

Protects  your  family  if  you  die 
Protects  you  if  you  live 

Ask  about  our  plan  whick  kelps  you  to  accumulate 

an  estate  at  the  same  time  you  are  protecting  your  family. 

WE  WANT  GOOD  AGENTS  IN  EVERY  TOWN 

Beneficial  Life  Insurance  Company 

Vermont  Bldg.,  Salt  Lake      Lorenzo  N.  Stohl.Vice-Prei.  &  Mgr. 


ASSETS 
MORE 
THAN  A 
MILLION 
DOLLARS 


Joseph  F.  Smith,  President 


OFFICER* 

JOSEPH    F.    SMITH, 

PR  IIIBINT 
W.    S.    MOCORNICK. 

VlCI-PllllDIKT 

CHANT    HAMPTON, 

sect  m  Trim, 

SEO.   T.    ODELL, 

Sin'l  Manager 
s.  s.  wright, 

AtlT,    GIN    L     Max. 


DIRECTORY 


ti8rJ 


JOSEPH    F.     SMITH 

W.    S.     MCCORMICK 

CEO.    T.    ODELL 
6.    S.    WRIGHT 

C.    S.    BURTON 

JAMES    H.    MOYLE 


FRANCIS     M.    LYMAN 

THOS.    R.    CUTLER 

WILLIAM    SPRY 
JAMES    L.    WRATHALL 

MISER    SCOWCROFT 


OEO.    D.    KEYSER 


W-    W.    ARMSTRONG 


WHEN    WRITING  TO  ADVERTISERS,  PLEASE  MENTION   THE   IMPROVEMENT  ERA